


The demon of the mind

by reese_writes



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Adult Pines Twins, Dark, F/F, Gravity Falls - Freeform, Human Bill Cipher, IF YOU WANT SHIPS SKIP TO CHAPTER 12, Possession, Returning to Gravity Falls, Spoilers, Suicide, There is a little bit of billdip but not much, everyone hates bill, everyone is a sass master, except maybe Dipper wink wink, mild billdip, pls read this idk, this is my first fic give me a break
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2018-09-03 04:16:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8696251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reese_writes/pseuds/reese_writes
Summary: Even if Bill had been destroyed in Weirdmageddon, Dipper didn't think that it would make him any more sane. He was trying to lead a normal life, he was in college now for gods sake! But he couldn't get rid of the thought of bill. On the other hand, Mabel wants her old bubbly self back as well as her brother. Theres only one option. To go back to Gravity Falls and get rid of bill once and for all.





	1. Times have changed

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! its my first time publishing my writing so cut me some slack.

Dipper knew it was all a dream. Thats what scared him.

His breath was heavy and heated, he could taste blood in the back of his throat he had been running for so long. He was surrounded by a long dark hallway, the walls so black they seemed to absorb light. They were lined with doors, each containing a memory. Dippers worst memories, getting possessed by Bill, the fight he had with Mabel right before Weirdmageddon...some of the memories weren't even his. But he could still feel them. The screams of strangers scratching at the inside of his skull, attacking him from every angle.

He was coming. Dipper knew it, he could feel it in his bones. So he ran as fast as he could. Dipper couldn't see Bill, he couldn't hear him but the feeling of him was there, alive and real. Heavy, as if it were pulling Dipper towards it. Bill was coming for him, but he didn't seem like the familiar triangle Dipper had come to know and fear. It just felt like a dark mass, consuming everything happy in its way and causing destruction.

Dipper was wheezing and huffing, he couldn't run and more. He tripped and fell to his knees, clawing at his aching gut, hacking up blood. The screams of cries of unknown and horrible memories filled his head. As he looked aside to one of the doors, he realized that each memory was a stranger under the mercy of Bill. A woman, being turned inside out. A man, being liquified. A child, possessed. Suddenly, Dipper flipped around on his back, and watched the black mass consume him.

Dipper flew up, sitting up in his bed sweating and panting. He realized where he was, in his college dorm, in his bed. His rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his curly mop he called hair.

"Dipper, seriously, you need to stop with the night terrors, its getting real damn annoying." Dipper looked up and over at his roommate, a smart, quaint guy with glasses named Josh. 

Dipper blinked a few times before coming to his senses and answering him, "Yeah, um, sorry about that. Was i screaming again?"

Josh chuckled, "You always do," his smile faded, "but seriously you need to see someone about that. And by the way, who's Bill? An ex boyfriend?'

"No! No, man. The opposite actually." Dipper looked over at his clock, it was 3 in the morning. God, Josh must be a saint to let these night terrors go on. Dipper wasn't surprised when he told him that we was gonna spend the last week of the semester at his parents house, i mean, who would want a screaming sleeper during finals week? His first year of college had seem to fly by, the papers and lectures a desperate attempt at a distraction from the dream demon lurking in the corners of his mind.

Dipper knew what his Grunkles had told him. They told that Bill was gone, forever, never to come back. Honestly Dipper thought it was stupid to try to get him to forget about Bill just like that. Especially since there was no doubt in Dippers mind that he was gone. Throughout his teen years he'd see things in the shadows or he'd wake up in the night drenched in sweat. Sometimes when it was really quiet, he could hear muffled laughter or the horrible nickname Bill had given him years ago through the sound of his ears ringing. 

But things like that were rare, he used to have Mabel right there beside him to calm him down. Now he was alone, and if he tried to talk to anyone, he was sure they'd ship him away to a madhouse. Dipper always knew that Bill would come back one day, destroy everything in his path and somehow make it out of Gravity Falls. But that day hadn't come yet. And while his family told him that it would never happen, the feeling in his chest told him otherwise. The dreams were now nonstop, pretty much every night. Sometimes, Dipper would be going about his daily business and he nose would bleed, sometimes black blood. His headaches were searing and frequent, the laughing in the night becoming common.

He wished that he could go back in time, back to when he was twelve and Gravity Falls was a magical place filled with wonder and mystery. And while he still loved the excitement and people of the town, his curiosity was replaced with fear. He didn't have time to investigate the things that went bump in the night, but rather get rid of it, for heaven knew he knew how. Dipper had done everything he could to get rid of the things that haunted his younger self. His arms were cover in tattoos, each warding him from some sort of evil.

Dipper decided that that was it. Bill was torturing him and he knew, trying to push him over the edge of insanity. He knew this, and he was going to make it stop. Somehow.

***

Mabel and Dipper were two different people. People tended to forget that sometimes.

Whether it was that they practical shared everything (er, used to) or that they looked exactly alike and got along so well, people tended to paint them with the same brush. Sometimes even the people they knew so well would assume that if one was a certain way, the other must be too. People were quite surprised when it turned out they didn't go to the same college, but it made perfect sense to them. I mean, you can't stay with the same person forever right? Right? It seemed as though there was only one who knew they were different and treated them as such. Bill Cipher.

The first couple months Mabel had dreams just like Dipper. She'd be in a field, eyes would surround her, she'd be in the mindscape... it was easy for Bill to see she didn't react to such tactics like her brother did. Bill was one who was very good at reading people. He had a certain knack for knowing exactly what made people tick. No, no, Mabel really got a kick out of physical things. She would look up at her ceiling in the night, her eyes begging for sleep, staring at an eye carved into the ceiling. Her nose would regularly ooze black blood and she would swear she saw a yellow triangle here...or there...

Mabel knew that she could not, and would not give into Bill's tricks. She was too smart, too strong, more so than her male counterpart. Bill knew it would take more than a few dreams or a headache here or there to get her to stop herself from thinking her wild imagination was playing tricks on her. Mabel knew this, she knew what Bill was doing. She knew how his mind worked, having spent so much time being a victim of it. She had learned to ignore him, yet somehow he kept demanding his presence to be known to her. She would distract herself, after all she was a friend making machine. She learned instruments, languages, and yet nothing could get the demon out of her life.

Mabel had changed significantly after her first trip to Gravity Falls. The bubble she was trapped in opened her eyes to how ridiculous her mind was. She no longer wanted to live in a glitter cat, neon colored world. Her head was leveled so she would lose her optimistic views, and see things the way they were. The night she got back from the infamous town she grabbed a pair of sewing scissors and cut her hair of so it was barely below her ears. She could still hear her mother's exasperated gasp and feel her hands rub the uneven ends of Mabel's once long beautiful hair. Mabel's questionable "Mabel Juice" was replaced with coffee. At first with lots of sugar, but eventually she just switched to black. She still had style but ditched her obnoxious sweaters and switched to more neutral clothes. She no longer felt the need to stand out.

She still giggled and smiled and told jokes and acted silly but it just wasn't the same. She had lost that cute quirkiness that made her so memorable. Now she preferred to blend in, only showing her true colors to people incredibly close. She had pretty much transformed into a pretty average teenager. At least on the surface.

After high school Mabel had rented an apartment with a few other friends and headed off to art school. She had gotten a pretty good scholarship with her fantastic grades and flute playing abilities. People were always telling her that art wouldn't pay the bills but Mabel wasn't the type of person to listen. Meanwhile Dipper had gone to West Coast Tech to study science and engineering, following in the footsteps his Grunkle Ford had tried to set. Seven years ago Mabel would have told you that there was no doubt in her mind that she and Dipper would go to the same college. But things changed.

...Senior year. It was senior year when Dipper and Mabel started to drift apart. Dipper had never really been a social butterfly and Mabel's personality earned her many friends. None of which new anything about the real her. Dipper was buried in his studies and Mabel was busy with her artwork. They had split into two rooms, and barely talked anymore. Mabel knew this wasn't her fault or her brother's fault. The real Dipper and Mabel would never drift apart. Mabel knew that. The one who had stolen her brother from her was Bill. And she wasn't going to let him do anymore damage. Not to herself, and definitely not to her brother. This meant one thing, she would have to return to Gravity Falls.


	2. welcome back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper and Mabel are coming back to Gravity Falls

Dipper flung the a suitcase on his bed. Now that school was over and done he had the freedom to do what he wanted for the summer. He was pretty sure that his parents wouldn't care, but even if they did he knew it wouldn't change his mind. He was on the brink of insanity and he was going to stop himself from going over the edge. He decided he would drive up there in his car, and just surprise his Grunkles when he got there. His plans weren't nessecarily bulletproof but he didn't have much time. 

He threw in some clothes and maybe a few books. He put in everything he thought he'd need for the summer, and if not he could always go into town and get what he needed. As he was packing his backpack with usual things, his laptop, his charger....he decided to make sure he wouldn't forget anything. As we was riffling through his messy closet he picked up a familiar blue and not so white hat, beat up and dirty. He stared at it, trying to decide whether or not to pack it. 

He put it on his head and grabbed his things to leave. 

***

Mabel sighed. She had her head in her hands, wondering what she was doing. She couldn't go back to Gravity Falls. Could she? She would. No, she wouldn't. She has to. She can't. Mabel groaned loudly. 

"What am I doing?" She said softly to herself. She took a deep breath and tore into her closet, fishing out purple duffle bag. She stuffed it with her clothes and quickly packed everything she'd need before she changed her mind. 

She ran outside, jumping into her energy efficient car and with a determined face reached to turn it on. She stopped, and closed her eyes. She could do this. She had to do this. For Dipper. She turned on the car and sped onto the highway, heading straight for Oregon. 

***

Dipper stepped out of his car and looked up and the Mystery Shack. He sighed, reassuring himself that he could do this. Just walk up there and ring the doorbell. The Mystery Shack wasn't scary, it was practically home. But for some reason Dipper was scared. Maybe it was because he knew what the return to the tourist trap meant, he knew that in this town his worst fears could come true. 

He walked over to the door anyway, staring at his feet. Once he got to the door he looked up to see his sister standing beside the door with her head in her hands. Her thick hair was pulled into a ponytail and she sported a green sweatshirt and shorts. Dipper gaped for a second at the sight of Mabel before yelling out her name. Mabel looked up. 

"Dipper!" She ran to him and they hugged. Dipper buried his face in her shoulder, knowing that he could lose her any day. Mabel hugged him tightly, for how much she missed him. Suddenly she broke away from him, her face filled with worry. 

"Dipper, what are you doing here?" she asked, looking at him with her big brown eyes that had bags under them. 

"Me? What are you doing here?" Dipper retorted. Mabel crossed her arms. 

"You first." she said. He looked down and sighed. All of a sudden, the door flung open. 

"Dudes! What are you two doing just standing out here?" Soos stood in the doorway, the famous fez atop his head. Mabel and Dipper looked up at him and smiled. They ran over and hugged him. 

"We just wanted to see you guys again." said Mabel. Dipper sighed with relief, Mabel was always better at knowing what to say. 

"Hold on, dudes. I'm gonna go get Stan and Ford." Soos said as he went inside. Mabel and Dipper, still on the porch, turned back to eachother. 

"So, why are you here again?" asked Mabel. Dipper knew there was no escaping the question. She was his twin, if he didn't tell the truth she would figure it out. 

"Bill. I know he's not gone and he's just going to keep haunting me and worse unless I came here to set things straight." Dipper answered. Mabel gasped. 

"That's why I'm here too! Ugh, isn't this great, it's like fate!" she said sarcastically. 

"Mabel, how—"

The door swung open and both Stans were there. They all hugged and remarked on how old the younger twins had gotten. There was much ruffling of hair and lying about why the two had come back to Gravity Falls without warning. 

"Yeah, uh, we wanted it to be a surprise," said Dipper rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well you two can stay in the attic again if that's alright with you," said Ford. 

"Yeah that's fine," said Mabel. Dipper and Mabel went upstairs. They were both so ready to throw their stuff onto those creaky beds and be back in a place they felt so at home in. 

But once Mabel opened that door, across the walls and ceilings were the words "I'M WATCHING YOU" written in blood.

Dipper squeaked and put his hands over his mouth. Mabel, however just stood there, staring up at it and squinting her eyes. She was trying to tell if it really was blood that enscribed those dreaded words on the room that they loved. Dipper was still scared out of his wits.

"H-h-he's getting stronger! He's never done anything like this before!" Dipper said. Mabel did a sad chuckle.

"Yes he has, Dipper. He's just never done it to you, that's all. Our minds work in different ways. While it takes nightmares and psychological thrills to get you riled up, I get shit like this."

"Y-you mean to tell me this has happened BEFORE?!" shouted Dipper, terrified.

"Well not this exactly," said Mabel casually, "look, I'll get some bleach, washcloths, gloves, and hydrogen peroxide. I'm sure Ford has some around here somewhere..."

"Why would Ford have hydrogen peroxide??"

Mabel looked over at Dipper, eyebrows raised. "It gets out blood."

***

"Tell me about the dreams, Dipper." said Mabel. The two were sitting cross-legged across from each other on Mabel's bed. She had her hands on his shoulder and was looking directly into his eyes. He, however was looking down. Talking about his dreams made him uncomfortable, but he knew it was best for his sister to know. He cleared his throat.

"I'm running down a hallway...a-and he's chasing me—"

"Is he a triangle?" interrupted Mabel. You could tell the answer to this question was very important to her.

"No, no. He's like a mass of some sort. Just sucking up everything good and causing destruction. And I'm surrounded by memories of people...people getting tortured by him."

"What people?"

"I dunno. Random people. Strangers. The only thing they all have in common are Bill,"

Mabel bit her lip, trying to think of the meaning behind all of this. She took her hands off of her brother and made him look at her.

"I think the best thing to do right now is to talk to Ford," she said.

"I know, I know. But I just don't want him to worry."

"Pfft. Dipper please," she stood up, "would you rather have a worried uncle or a dead sister?" Mabel said this in a surprisingly relaxed tone, not completely understanding what she was saying until she said it. Dipper stood up too.

"You're right. I need to go talk to Ford." Dipper said. He made his way down stairs. He jammed in the code to the vending machine and swung open the door, making his way down to his great uncle.

"Great uncle Ford, I need to, erm, talk to you about something."

"Of course. Anything. Come and sit down, my boy." Dipper did as his uncle said and sat down, spilling his guts on everything that happened to him. The only thing he didn't mention was Mabel. He did not want to pull her into this.

Ford pursed his lips in thought, and then stood up, "Well sounds like you're just still scared of Bill and your dreams are reflecting that. Simple, get rid your fear, get rid of Bill." Ford said decisively. He started to walk away, content with the end of this conversation.

"Wait! That's not all!" Dipper yelled after Ford. He stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder.

He quietly asked, "What else happened?"

Dipper took a breath, "Bill, he's been doing things outside of the mindscape. He's...he's been messing with Mabel. Just now he wrote on our wall with blood!"

"WHAT?!? You can't be serious!" Ford yelled. Dipper suddenly regretted saying this. He nodded anyway. Ford tore upstairs, Dipper close behind. They ran up the stairs to see Mabel scrubbing the walls. She turned around, her eyes wide at the sight of Ford. Of course from that point on Ford interrogated her, Mabel fully telling the truth, knowing it was for the best. Ford soaked up every word, carefully picking apart what she was saying. Dipper, however, was scrubbing the walls, trying to act nonchalant, as if he wasn't listening to every word that came out of their mouths. Dipper could hear Stan coming up the stairs, but didn't say anything. Besides, he was pretty sure that Mabel and Ford were deaf to anything besides their own conversation. Stan walked in with a casual greeting, until he looked up and the message on the wall. He dropped his Pitt Cola.

"What the hell is that?!" he shouted.

"Nothing! Nothing!" yelled Dipper, trying to calm Stan down.

"No, it's not nothing. I've heard that before. Where have I heard that..." Stan tapped his. Mabel, by accident breathed out bills name.

"Wait, Bill?? Isn't that that triangle guy??"

"Stanley, calm down were figuring it out," said Ford.

"Figuring it out?? He almost ended the world! My mind had to be erased! Fix it! Now!"

"Hey! We're doing the best we can—"

Dipper and Mabel stopped listening. They had become accustomed to tuning out their Grunkles bickering. Dipper turned to his sister.

"Wanna go on the roof?"

Mabel agreed. So they headed downstairs, and climbed to the roof. The cooler was still there and had been recently restocked with Pitt Colas. They sat down next to eachother and stared into the endless woods. Mabel took a sip, her feet handing off the edge.

"You know what we have to do right?" asked Dipper. Mabel raised her eyebrows and he sat down next to her. "We have to summon him." Mabel stood up.

"Are you crazy? You know how much bad he can cause?"

"Only if he has a physical form and he's definitely not there yet and hopefully never will be." he said. Mabel still glared at him. "Look, how are we going to get rid of him if he isn't even here?"

Mabel looked down, "You're right. But we can't let Stan or Ford know. They'll freak."

Dipper chuckled, "Yeah they will,"

***

In the clearing, there stood a circle of candles, the original drawing of Bill from the journals in a frame in the middle. The area had a feeling of unease, warding from the two twins standing in front of the circle. They were looking around nervously, trying to find a reason to call off what they were about to do. The male counterpart stepped up, holding a copy of the second journal. He cleared his throat and began to whisper the Latin incantations, nessecary for a summoning. His voice crescendoed until he was screaming out, both him and the sister holding onto his arm's eyes glowing. They knew what they were getting into. Yet somehow, they couldn't stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was a bit slow, guys, but it'll speed up in the next one I promise ;)


	3. Guess who's baack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BIIILLLL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: subtle mentions of rape/prostitution

The two twins watched the forest around them fade to black and white. Mabel was standing strong, wanting to appear brave and fearless. Dipper, however, was shaking with terror. They were about to face the most horrifying foe they had ever come across, not to mention they had no plan, no idea how strong he was, or how they were going to kill him. Dipper was sure he'd just come up with it on his way but he was now pretty close to the whole "getting rid of Bill" part and his mind was blank.

As usual, flashes of crazy scenarios and what looked like a form of hell appeared behind the black outline of an insane triangle. An eye with a vertical line as a pupil appeared on him. Both of the twins stood a bit taller to appear less like the children they used to be. With a "pop" Bill appeared as his usual yellow self with his trademark top hat. He laughed maniacally, gripping his sides. Mabel covered her ears. His laugh alone was pretty much nightmare fuel.

"Whoo! I gotta hand it to ya, I thought you two were WAY too chicken to actually summon me! Missed me?" It was funny, the way Bill spoke. He didn't have a mouth or a second eye, but he was still more animated than anyone either of the Pines siblings had ever met, " Pine tree, shooting star, its nice to see you two again. Wow you've grown! Pine Tree, haven't you become a little man, still have that stupid hair, though." Dipper rubbed his hair angerly. Another thing about this particular demon was how well he knew how to push people's buttons. "And Shooting Star! Haven't you matured! I'm sure many would pay a handsome price to feel you up!"

He snapped his fingers and Mabel was in restraints, on the ground. Dipper ran to his sister, trying to free her. But unfortunately they were tied with something more powerful than what was in Dippers control. Instead, he charged at Bill.

"LET HER GO!!" screamed Dipper, trying to reach the demon. Bill was floating right above Dipper's reach, twirling his cane in his hand.

"Fine, you were never much fun." Bill snapped his fingers again and Mabel was free. Tears stained her cheeks, her hands trembling. Dipper hugged her tightly. Bill's impact really was terrifying though, the fact that Mabel very much believed that Bill was about to make manipulative deals and sell her body. 

"What do you want?!" Dipper yelled, still on the ground hugging his sister. Bill raised his eyebrow.

"If I remember correctly, and I think I do, it was YOU who summoned ME. So I think I should be the one who asks that question. Anyways, what was your plan, Pine Tree? To summon me, then figure out some way to banish me? Well it ain't gonna work! I was banished back the mindscape by your family before, and its not gonna happen again!" All of a sudden, Bill turned a red color. "I spent 7 long hard years building up strength and i am NOT gonna let two little MORTALS mess that up!"

He raised his hands up, both glowing red with fire. He cleared his throat, returning to his usual yellow color. 

"Now you two don't mind, I'd like to try out some of my new powers now. Have some fun. Wanna see a trick?!" he asked with overwhelming enthusiasm. Mabel and Dipper, holding each other in fear, managed to shake their heads. 

"No? Well then, it's such a shame that I DON'T CARE!" Bill screamed, his voice echoing throughout the grey forest. He laughed, and rolled up his imaginary sleeves. Just then he slipped into Dipper, tossing his soul out and replacing it with his horrible self. Mabel screamed and got away from Dippers body as fast as possible. Bipper stood up, sucking him and Mabel into the real world.

"Wow, this is refreshing! Haven't been in your body since you were twelve and going through puberty! Boy, do i prefer this!" said Bill. He was watching Dippers hands open and close as well as bending his legs and cracking his neck. Mabel was bawling, watching her brothers body get taken over by her worst fear and enemy.

"B-but i thought you had to make a deal to possess someone!" said Mabel between sobs. Bill's horrible laugh came out of Dipper body.

"Not anymore, sweetcheeks! Didn't i tell you how I've gotten stronger? Anyways, lets go back to the shack. I'm sure your-I mean OUR Grunkles are missing us dearly." Bipper smiled evilly. He started walking back towards the direction of the Shack. Mabel wanted nothing to do with him and sure as hell wasn't following him. She whispered Dipper's name as a single tear ran down her cheek, knowing he was there as a ghost. Bipper made a "come here" signal with his finger and Mabel was dragged with what felt like an invisible force to his side. She kept on a brave face, being forced to walk by his side but letting a tear slip every once in a while. By the time they reached the shack. He turned to her and inspected her.

"Hmm, yeah this definitely looks suspicious. Here," he said as he magically cleaned up Mabel's face with the flick of a finger. This may have seemed like a kind gesture for a moment, until you realized it was a demon trying to hide the fact that he stole a 19 year old's body. He smiled at her and his pupils suddenly became normal Dipper pupils. Relief flooded through Mabel.

"Dipper!" she cried, opening her arms to embrace him. He held up a finger.

"Nope, still Bill!" he said in Bills voice, "which reminds me..." he cleared his throat and said in Dipper's voice, "Do i sound like Dipper now?'

Mabel was too horrorstruck to answer. To watch such an evil being imitate her brother like that was scarring. His smile faded and his eyes glowed red.

"I said, DO I SOUND LIKE DIPPER?!" he screamed at Mabel, still in her brothers voice. She nodded as fast and violent as she could. He eyes returned to normal.

"Good. If this is going to work, Shooting Star, I'm going to need you to cooperate. You won't like me when I'm mad."

Mabel nodded again in the same fashion as she had previously and he strode inside. She followed behind him closely, not wanting to anger him or get pulled up beside him again. Inside stood Stanley and Soos.

"Hey dudes! What were you two up to?" asked Soos.

"Oh nothing, just exploring." lied Bipper.

"Alright, just don't be looking for trouble. you know how that ends up," said Stan warningly.

"Oh we weren't," said Bipper with a smile. Mabel let out a shaky breath. She regretted everything. Coming to Gravity Falls, summoning Bill...she just wanted her brother back. Stan glanced over to her.

"Hey, everything alright, kid?" he asked. Bipper shot a terrifying glance back at Mabel, flashing his yellow eyes. A chill ran down Mabel's spine.

"Oh yes, everything fine." Mabel lied.

"We're gonna go up to the attic," said Bipper and he grabbed Mabel's wrist with a death grip and dragged her up the stairs and into their room. He threw her into the room and let his real eyes show. He smiled and with the snap of his fingers the door closed and locked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! if you have any thoughts on this chapter or on this fanfic so far id love to hear them!


	4. A new vessel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bipper :P

Bipper laughed again and Mabel stared at the closed door. Mabel recoiled back into her bed trying to get as far away from the monstrosity as possible. He walked around the room, inspecting every surface. He occasionally "oohed" or "ahhed" at something but he was mostly silent. She watched him look at her brothers things, disgusted at the fact that he was touching them as if they were exhibits at a museum. Out of nowhere, he ran over and leaped into Mabel's bed, and she did a mini scream. He was sitting right across from her, staring into her eyes. Mabel, of course, couldn't help but reminisce of when she and Dipper were sitting right across from each other, talking about the demon that was now I'm front of her. 

"So! I don't know much about you! Tell me about yourself!" yelled Bill. Mabel was at a loss for words. "C'mon say something!" Mabel said nothing, she didn't know why he wanted her to talk so bad, probably to just fell more powerful t. "Say something!!" But she would not give in to Bill, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. He stood up. 

"Fine then. If you won't talk then I'll do this the hard way." he said. What did that mean? He turned around, walking at first, then running down the hall and into to the bathroom, Mabel hopped up as fast as she could and followed him in there and when she found him he was holding a razor to her brothers wrist.

"Tell me what I wanna hear Mabel. Or I'll do what he spent years in therapy trying to undo."

"How did you know about that?" Mabel asked angrily. 

"Simple, went through his head." he said, it made her even more upset how going through someone's head, especially Dipper's, meant nothing. "Now, tell me, where are the journals?"

"They were destroyed."

"Bullshit!"

"It's true! Don't you think if there were any left Dipper would be carrying one around?" Mabel yelled. That awkward moment of silence was deafening. 

"That's true...well then, I believe we're done here." He said and he put down the razor. Mabel was relieved, like a huge weight has just been lifted from her shoulders. 

"So you're going to get out of my brother's body?" Mabel asked, impatient. Bill smiled. 

"Not exactly. I wanna see what this baby can do. It's been a while since I had a physical form and besides, that was just a bigger triangle. This is fun."

"Why don't you go possess someone else for a change?!"

"One word: revenge. Why would I take the body of a stranger when I can torture the one that banished me for 7 years when I was this close to winning? Now if you'll excuse me I have some forks to stab into Pine Tree's arms..." He started to walk away. 

"Wait!" yelled Mabel. Bill glared at her, using an expression she had never once seen on Dipper's face, "Dipper had all sorts of anti-possession tattoos, how come it worked for you?"

Bipper smiled like he had been waiting all day for Mabel to ask that. He pulled down his shirt to reveal his shoulder, a tattoo that was disfigured due to part of the skin being burned. 

"Beautiful, ain't it? Did it while he was sleeping." he said, proud of himself. Mabel wanted to kill him out of anger, but not yet, he was still in Dipper. 

"Y'know Cipher? One day we're gonna get back at you and you are gonna be sorry."

Bill made a fake sad face, "Well it's too bad that day's not coming anytime soon, then, is it?!"

***

Mabel looked over at the clock, midnight. Bill was sleeping in Dippers bed. Since the last time he took over Dippers body he had learned how important having energy was. He snoring up a storm and drooling all over Dipper's pillow. Mabel decided she would later burn that pillow. She got up slowly, cursing the creaking bed and floor as she got up. She crept down the stairs, trying desperately not to wake Bill. He had kept her in his sights since he took over Dipper's body, probably to prevent this. 

"A vessel," she whispered to herself, "I need a vessel." She rifled through the kitchen, trying to find something. She knew last time she had a puppet made, but now she didn't have such a luxury. A sock? Ha, no. too much irony. The only other things she could find was useless shit, that definitely couldn't be a vessel. She opened up a drawer and found a paper bag. She picked it up and shrugged. It would work. She fished out a marker and drew a face on it. She smiled at her creation and then just sighed. This would never work. It's better than nothing though. She set it in the middle of the dingy living room floor and sat on the dirty couch, waiting. 

"Dipper, Dipper please. I know it's not good, it's the best I could do. Please, I need you!" Mabel cried at the sad little paper bag in the middle of the floor. A glowing yellow light illuminated behind her. She turned around slowly, scared. There stood Bipper, his eyes the main light source in the room. They started to fade to red and a smile spread across his face. 

"Ooh, you've been bad, Shooting Star. You really think I'm stupid? Of course I knew that you were trying to contact Pine Tree. You two are so funny, so dependent on each other. The second I separate you two, you're helpless. Aw, look at your pathetic little vessel." Bill walked over to the bag and with the snap of his fingers, it combusted. Now Mabel could properly see his smile, which was miles away from Dipper's smile, "Pine tree is somewhere that you'll never find him, but for now, let's play a little game."


	5. Bill's Realm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dippers pov, where he was during last chapter

Dipper blinked a few times before opening his eyes. His mouth was as dry as a desert, his eyes filled with crust. His head hurt, as if he had hit it on something. Hard. His muscles were sore, his jointed ached as if he had slept on them wrong. Once his eyes were open he started to take in his surroundings, he was laying down on something hard. He sat up a bit, rubbing his face and hair. He was laying on the ground, in the middle of an endless field. He stood up and looked around. The sky was a soupy red and the air was crisp. The wind blew by him, whispering something into his ears. He swatted at his ear, as if it would make it stop.

He looked down at himself, he was in a long dress coat, white undershirt, black pants, a ribbon around his neck, and no shoes. He looked better in this attire than when he was twelve, he had grown into the look nicely. All of a sudden, he felt something drip from his nose. He reached up and felt his nose. Black blood. Of course. He rolled his eyes, and the ground suddenly felt...squishy. And the ground started to get closer...quicksand. Dipper tried desperately to free his feet and push up from the ground. He didn't want to die! Not like this! He frantically struggled, and managed to free his feet and roll away from the patch of sand. Panting, he stood up and started to brush himself off, only to discover that there was not a speck of dirt on him. 

"Pfft. Great," he said. Wherever he was he wasn't on earth. He started to walk around, trying to find a clue. The field was spotless, it appeared pretty much empty. Dipper didn't give up, he kept looking. The most he found was a rock. He slipped it into the pocket of his coat anyway. He kept walking around. His feet hurt like hell, it was impossible to stop from stepping on the wheat and the jagged ground which can get pretty tiring pretty fast. The wind picked up quickly, blowing back Dippers coat tails and hair. The whistling of it in his ears got louder and more intense. He could actually hear it now. Funny, the wind sounded exactly like Bill's laugh. 

Dipper turned around, looking for a specific triangle. He kept rotating, never knowing where he might pop up. The wind was now blowing so hard the wheat what almost on the ground, and Dipper was trying to keep his footing. The wind gave a strong push and Dipper was on his back like a turtle. Defenseless and vulnerable. The laughing got louder, no longer hiding in the wind. Dipper tried to cover his ears but he felt paralyzed, the laughing now blocking out any other possible thoughts. He shut his eyes, all he could think was how bad he wanted the laughing to stop. Suddenly it stopped, and Dipper opened his eyes. There was a handsome, tall man, right in front of his face. He had violent yellow hair, a golden vest, a long dress coat similar to Dipper's, a long top hat that would put Lincoln to shame, and a cane in his gloved hand. His right eyes was covered with a black triangle. Even if a human form, Dipper could tell he was Bill easily. He just had a certain vibe that you couldn't miss. 

"If you wanted me to stop so bad, Pine Tree, you could've just said so." he said. 

Dipper hopped up, and shoved Bill out of his face. "TELL ME WHERE I AM, CIPHER!" he shouted. Bill started to grow, his one eye and hair glowing scarlet, the world around them turning red with him. He was losing his temper fast. 

"How DARE you push me, you PUNY, PATHETIC MORTAL. I COULD MAKE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE COME TRUE WITH THE SNAP OF MY FINGERS!!!" he screamed, looking down at him like Dipper was a mosquito who bit him. Dipper, although terrified, looked up at Bill with a face that showed no sign of anything but courage. Bill slowly turned back to yellow, still huge though, with a calm expression now on his face, "You see, Pine Tree, in this realm I am so powerful even the most hideous of monsters fear for their life in my presence. You need to learn to respect me, or we'll have a serious problem. In fact, I think it's time for you to learn your lesson."

Bill's hand was engulfed with blue flames as he snapped his fingers. 

Dipper woke up with a gasp. He sat up quickly, taking in his surroundings. His was in the Gravity Falls woods, but Dipper was not comforted. How dark it was, how everything seemed to have red undertones...it didn't feel right. It put him on edge, like he was waiting for something horrible to happen...

"DIPPER!!!" Mabel's voice called out. Dipper stood up as fast as lightning and called out her name too.

"MABEL!!!" he yelled out, trying to figure out the direction Mabel's voice came from. 

"DIPPER PLEASE HURRY!! PLEASE!" Mabel's voice was cracked like she was crying. 

"I'M COMING MABEL!!" Dipper shouted as loud as he could and started running towards the direction Mabel sounded like she was. The trees branches cut his arms and the weeds seemed to lash at his ankles but he honestly couldn't care less. He needed to save Mabel. He sprinted as fast as he could through the endless woods, Mabel screaming for him. He stopped at a clearing, Mabel on the ground, completely drenched in her own blood. 

"Dipper..." she said quietly, barely being able to muster words. She was reaching for him. Dipper dropped directly next to her and pulled her up onto his lap.

"Dipper, please save me..." she whispered. Tears were flowing down his cheeks. 

"I will, Mabel, I'll find a way to save you." he whispered back. He pulled her hair behind her ear, smiling through his tears at her beauty. She coughed violently, black blood spewing out of her mouth. She looked up at Dipper with her big brown doe eyes, and reached her hand up to his cheek. Dipper thought he might throw up from crying. Her hand fell limp, dead. He pursed his lips, rivers flowing from his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. He started to rock back and forth and the forest floor, not knowing what to do. He had lost his sister. It was his fault. He let her die. 

Pop! Dipper was back in the field, now only cradling mere air. He looked up at the demon, tears staining his cheeks. Bill was hysterically happy with Dipper's pain. 

"Whoo boy! That was fun. You're really over reacting y'know. Eh, you'll learn. We've got a lot of work to do. But for now I must be leaving, I believe someone's trying to make a vessel for you at the moment. CHAO!"

And like that, he was gone.


	6. Just shake my hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill has gotten good at being able to get under the Pine's family's skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really FCUKING pissed because i had to rewrite this chapter when it got deleted. So, enjoy

Mabel's hands were shaking. She didn't know where her brother was, he was undoubtably in the hands of Bill, which scared her more than anything. She worried about her brother, she wanted to know what was being done to him, she wanted to help. But she knew as long as she in in Bill's sights, the most she could do was keep him out of trouble, whatever it took. Since Bill had taken over Dipper, Mabel had learned not to fear him so much. He was nowhere near the amount of power he had last time, and she was going to make sure that he never was. But for now, she was still in the living room, being forced to babysit this thousand year old dream demon. And apparently, he wants to play a game.

"A game, huh? What kind of game?" This statement sounded a lot more badass in Mabel's head.

“Oh, nothing special. Something easy, really.” he said.

“First we have to go outside.” she ordered, and he obliged. The last thing she wanted to do was wake her Grunkles. They definitely did not need to know that their grandnephew was in mortal danger in somewhere unknown thanks to her. Yeah, definitely not. 

“So what? What do you want?’” asked Mabel, now outside the Shack and trying to get whatever she was going to have to do over with quick. 

“Simple, just drive me into town and I won’t kill your brother because of it.” he said. He smiled innocently and shrugged as if this was something that he couldn't help. Mabel had a look of utter disgust on her face.

“That’s not a game, thats a deal, you sicko!” she whisper-shouted at him. He gasped dramatically and put his hands on his face.

“You’ve cracked the code! I’m busted!” he said sarcastically. Mabel scoffed and rolled her eyes at his immature attitude. For someone so old, he acted like a kid way too much. “Sure it’s a deal, Shooting Star. So what? I’m a demon, it’s what we do. What do you say?” he smiled and stuck his hand out as it burst into sapphire flames.

“No way, you triangular piece of shit!” Mabel yelled at him, swatting his hand away. The blue flames disappeared. His mischievous smile faded, and his eyes glowed blood red.

“I thought I told you to rESPECT ME, MORTAL!!” he yelled at her, seeming to tower over her because of how she was cowering down and how he was leaning over her. He cleared his throat and went back to normal, brushing off his sleeves. “Sorry, Shooting Star. Wrong Pines twin. You two look so similar.” he said with a light chuckle.

“You know where my brother is, you've talked to Dipper!” she yelled angrily.

“Of course, I have. But, you’re completely dodging my question. So, which will it be? Dead brother? Or a drive into town?” he said, his hand once again aflame. She looked down at it, not sure what to do. The deal seemed pretty cut and dry to her, but Bill had a certain way of hiding things in his sentences.

“All I have to do is drive you into town?” she asked warily. He nodded enthusiastically. “and you won’t kill my brother?”

“Well, not because of this.” he said. 

“And you’re not hiding anything, right? This is all there is?”

“Yup! Just shake my hand….” he said and he stuck he hand out farther, almost poking Mabel in the gut. She took a deep breath, and weakly grabbed his hand. He shook it fast and laughed maniacally.

“Ooh, this is gonna be fun!”

Meanwhile, Stan was half asleep in his bed, hoping that he was just imagining the blue light and horrid laughing coming from the window…

***

Dipper’s hands were shaking. He was laying in the field turning over his rock in his hand, trying to recover from the last sequence that Bill had put him through. Each time he had gone through Bill’s torture it was worst than the last. The sequence with Mabel’s death seemed like mere child’s play now. Dipper regretted everything. He regretted following Bill into Stan’s mind during their very first meeting. Gideon got the deed anyway, there really was no point. He regretted making a deal with Bill and letting him possess him. Bill destroyed the laptop anyway, there was virtually no purpose. He regretted letting Mabel get ahold of the rift so easily, letting Bill get that sweet taste of power and angering him so much that he put him in this place. In some way, he even regretted coming to Gravity Falls in the first place. Because what he was going through now was pure hell. 

At one point Dipper thought he really was in Hell. It seemed realistic enough, he was away from his body, away from Earth, away from his sister in what felt like endless torture. These little scenarios appeared every hour or so. But Dipper knew that he wasn't dead for two reasons. The first reason was pain and the marks.

Despite what most thought, Dipper was not oblivious. He could pick up the little hints Bill was dropping, he knew what was going on. He knew he was being possessed and Mabel was undoubtably being tortured by Bill through himself. That was how he felt pain. Every once in a while, while he was in the field, Dipper would get little scratches on his wrist, or his head would hurt like he banged it on something, or his hand would feel scorching hot…

The second reason was Bill’s nature. Over the years, Dipper had really gotten to know the triangle, disliking him more with each piece of knowledge he gained. But one thing was that Bill was not the type of being to simply plow through his enemies when he got mad. No no, he would torture them with sequences so terrifying they would unravel the most sturdy person’s brain. He would drive them to the brink of insanity and hold them over the edge. Thats what he was doing to Dipper. Thats what he had been doing since Dipper upset him in the first place. He banished Bill to a place he spent years trying to escape and now Dipper had to pay dearly. But for now, he would rest.

When he first arrived in this infinite and empty field, he thought the isolation would push him into madness. Now the field was like a home, it was bliss. He guessed that was what happened when you were stuck in an endless cycle of torture and this was your only break. Still. He happily soaked up this free time, resting his head on the hard ground, with his only companion, a goddamn rock. He closed his eyes, deciding to sleep until the next trial…

“WAKE UP, PINE TREE!” yelled Bill’s voice. Only, it wasn't Bill, it was more like a recording, Dipper had come to realize. Bill was much to busy with Mabel. “BOY, DO I HAVE SOMETHING PLANNED FOR YOU!” Dipper got up, far from ready for whatever Bill was referring to. “STRAP IN, THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, please comment, i wanna hear your guys' opinions


	7. Hot sauce

"Alright, time to go into town!" said Bill as he started off towards the car. 

"Ah ah ah," said Mabel and she grabbed the back of his shirt which caught him by surprise. He whipped around. 

"Look, I don't know if you're dumb or you're stupid, but a deal means you have to drive me into town now!" he said furiously. 

"Said I'd drive you into town, didn't say when," she said with a smirk and a cross of her arms. His hands caught flame with anger. 

"You manipulative, conniving, useless sack of meat! How DARE you trick me, you—"

"Hey, take a chill pill. Nothing's open anyway and you," she poked his chest, "if you recall, have to get a full nights sleep to function."

He brushed off his chest and scoffed, "Of course I remember. Fine, I'll sleep until morning, but just know I don't like you."

Mabel made a fake sad face, mocking his own attitude. He scowled at her and walked inside. If this was going to work, he thought, you can't kill her yet. They made their back to the Shack and waiting for them directly inside the doorway was Stan. 

"Hey kids, what are you two doing up so late?" he asked casually, trying not to sound suspicious. Bipper coughed, changing back to his Dipper voice. 

"Oh nothing, just getting some fresh air," he said. 

"You got a cough there, son?" he asked looking down at Bipper, not sure if he was really his grandnephew. 

"No, no! Not at all! I'm fine!" he answered. 

"So, just a walk, eh? Thought I heard some yelling and saw some sort of blue light..." Stan said in his gruff voice, trying to act oblivious when really he was interrogating the two. Bipper shot a look back at Mabel that said, "answer this right or else." Mabel squeaked. 

"Um, must have been some sort of car passing by," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. 

"Mmhm." said Stan, "Welp! Get to bed, kids!" he said and they went upstairs. Meanwhile, he punched in the code to the vending machine and took the elevator down to the basement. 

"Ford!" he yelled his brother's name and he woke with a jolt. He had fallen asleep at his desk, planning the next treasure hunting trip for the elder Pine's twins to embark on. He rubbed his eyes under his glasses sleepily and looked up at Stan.

"Stan, it's 12:30 in the morning, what could you possibly want?" he asked. 

"We've got a problem. Bill, he's back. He's in Dipper and he's got Mabel." said Stan, panicked. Ford looked up at Stan.

"Stanley, it's not possible, we erased him. It must've been a bad dream or something...."

"Look, it's wasn't a dream, I swear! I know what I saw and heard, and that's not my nephew."

"Well what did you see and hear?" Stanford said, standing up and yawning. 

"Blue light and laughing, and very suspicious behavior."

"Alright, Stan what'd you do?"

"Nothing! I just sent them back up to go to bed!"

"Hmm, we'll investigate this in the morning, but for now, for gods sake, go back to sleep."

Stan walked up stair, grumbling grievances under his breath. He knew his brother didn't believe him, otherwise he'd be flying into action. But he was going to prove him wrong, and then, he'd be sorry

***

"WAKE UP, SHOOTING STAR!" yelled Bill in Dipper's voice. He had decided that since last night he'd have to be more careful, they were too suspicious of him now. 

Mabel's eyes blinked open slowly as she looked to see her brothers face staring down at her, with eyes inhuman. She rubbed her face. 

"I'll get up, Bill just give me some time." she yawned.

"You get five minutes." he said. She dragged herself away from her crickety bed and as she was about to change into her clothes she looked back at Bipper, staring directly at her. 

"Could you look away please?" she asked nicely. 

"Nope, I'm not letting you out my sights again." he stated. 

"Not even to change?" she asked, annoyed. He shook his head. She sighed deeply and took her towel that was laying on the ground and used to cover herself as she slipped on a black sweater and a pink skirt. They departed downstairs, Mabel not having time to even brush her hair. Downstairs, Stan and Ford were waiting for them. 

"Where you two going?" asked Stan.

"Into town," responded Bill. 

"Without breakfast?" asked Ford, tilting his head. Mabel raised her hand about to ask for some, but Bipper pushed it down to her side. 

"Nope!" he said. And with that, they left. 

***

"What's this do?!" said Bipper as he reached for the gear shift. Mabel swatted his hand away. 

"Don't touch," she said, pointing at him and staring at the road. 

"Fine," he said softly. He leaned over and looked at the pedals. He had an idea. Just a bit of a scare to set Shooting Star straight. With the flick of the finger, the brake pedal hit the floor. Everything in the car flew forward, including the passengers. Instinctively, and since Bipper wasn't wearing a seat belt, Mabel flung her hand into his chest, keeping him from flying through the window. The car behind them honked loudly. She waved her hand out of the window, as to say sorry, and kept driving. 

"Y'know if you're gonna do that, at least wear a seat belt," she said, unaffected by his little stunt. He crossed his arms, upset with her lack of aggravation. They pulled into Greasy's and got out of he car. Bipper was amused at the place. Mabel ordered a stack of pancakes and Bill asked for French fries and hot sauce. 

"Hot sauce? Really? Dipper is really sensitive to spice." Mabel said, raising her eyebrows at him. He smiled. 

"I know." When the fries came, he drenched them in the sauce, and poured them into his mouth all at once. Mabel, taking a bite of her pancakes, gave him a very weird look, as did everyone else. Then he took the hot sauce and poured it directly into his mouth, then migrated up to his eyes. 

"WAIT NO!" yelled Mabel, clawing at him from the other side of the table. 

***

Meanwhile...

Dipper was meandering around the field tossing and catching his trusty rock. Suddenly, what felt like a large blow to his chest shot him backwards and onto the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

"Cipher...I swear to god. Whatever you're doing to my body..." Dipper whispered. Once he had regained his breath he got back up again and continued to look for any sort of thing in this wasteland besides his rock. A couple of minutes passed and his mouth caught fire. 

"AH, WATER!" cried Dipper rubbing his tongue. He was panting, cursing his sensitive taste buds. Just then his eyes starting burning. 

"GAH! IT BURNS!" he yelled, getting on his knees and pounding the ground, trying to relieve the pain of hot sauce in his eyes. 

"Ugh, I swear to god I'm gonna get back at that triangle one day..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is going kinda slow, I promise it'all pick up


	8. Bill's plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill finally puts his real plan into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you are still reading this, thanks, this is literal garbage

Mabel sighed. She knew Bill was up to something, but she couldn't figure out what. He always had a clear cut plan, get the deed, destroy the journals, take over the world...he was the type of guy to have a dramatic monologue once in a while. She kept waiting for it, waiting for him to dramatically reveal whatever he was doing. She was used to him getting shit done, making decisions and taking over the world. Now she was watching him rip through a convenience store.

It was exhausting, keeping him from killing or hurting Dipper. She snickered. It was ridiculous, how her worst nightmare came back and it currently was pouring slushy into its mouth straight from the machine. 

"Hey, Mabel," She turned around and there stood an older Wendy. Wendy looked a lot similar, but that trademark teenager voice was gone. Her hair was cut into a floppy pixie cut, her arms covered in creative tattoos and her nose pierced. She looked pretty as ever, Mabel solemnly wondered what Dipper would think. 

"Hey Wendy," replied Mabel, not taking her eyes off of Bipper, who was asking the poor sap at the cash register most likely endless and terrifying questions, who honestly couldn't care less that a demon was destroying the store he didn't own. 

"What's up with Dipper?" Wendy asked with a beyond confused expression on her face. Mabel pinched the bridge of her nose like a tired parent. She knew Wendy, she could trust Wendy, right? The words "TRUST NO ONE" flashed through her head. 

"Do you really want to know?" she asked, looking up at Wendy with serious eyes. Wendy, noticing the tone of her voice and expression on her face. Wendy nodded. "Okay, only because I trust you. Just, you CANNOT tell Grunkle Stan or Grunkle Ford." Mabel warned. Wendy made a "locked lips and throw away the key" symbol. Mabel exhaled, "Bill...has taken over Dipper."

"No!" yelled Wendy. Mabel immediately shushed Wendy, terrified of Bill overhearing. Bipper's head whipped around to stare at Mabel with yellow eyes.

"Yeah Wendy! I couldn't believe they broke up either!" Mabel said loudly, desperately trying to cover her tracks. Bill looked away and kept exploring the convenience store. 

"No way!" whispered Wendy, "What are you gonna do?"

"I don't know, I-I'm figuring it out as I go," said Mabel. 

"Anything I can do?" asked Wendy, as she kept sneaking glances at Bipper. 

"Just, if you see him, make sure he doesn't hurt Dipper's body. Or if you're not sure ask him questions." she advised. Wendy nodded. Mabel looked back over to Bipper, now making uncomfortable conversation with Tad Strange. Mabel walked up to them slowly, wanting to leave as well as listen in on their conversation. 

"So tell me, how tall are you to the exact nanometer?"

"Uhh..."

"Er-Dipper! Can I talk to you for a moment?" 

Bill looked at her and excused himself from the conversation Tad definitely did not want to have. 

"Bill!" whispered Mabel, "please, can we leave now? Haven't you gotten what you wanted??"

Bill stood, thinking. Mabel stared at him, impatiently waiting for an answer. He smiled at her, "Not everything. Yet. Race you to water tower!"

"Wait, NO!!" She yelled. Before she knew it, Bill darted off into the endless woods towards the water tower, poking up from the top of the trees. She sprinted after him, dodging trees and tripping a few times on roots and rocks. She could hear his distant laughing, mocking her. She ran faster, a cut on her cheek from falling and a bad scratch on her knee. "Please," she thought, unsure if what she was thinking was prayer, "please don't let him hurt Dipper." She couldn't feel the pain from thistles or rouge branches cutting up her arms, she needed to help her brother. She got him into this mess and she had to be the one to get him out of it. The trees stopped, and there stood the water tower. She looked around, trying to find where Bill could possibly be. Then it hit her. Slowly, horrified, she looked up to see Bipper at the top of the water tower, grinning and yellow eyed. 

"Ha! Looks like you lost," he said in his Bill voice, "Isn't that a shame. I also just wanted to let you know that next time you try to have a secret conversation about me, make it a bit more secret. Shooting Star, I just want to thank you for helping me out! How cute was it watching you try and keep me from killing Dipper, like I would waste such a body so soon!"

She looked at the stability of the water tower, much to fragile for two people to climb up there. If she went up there, they would both die. 

"But now your time's up! This body is no use to me anymore, so I guess it's time for YOUR punishment. I've been keeping Dipper in a special little place I had reserved just for him. Endless rounds of torture, man was it fun!"

Mabel just stared up at him, feeling more and more guilty about her brother by the second.

"It's a shame it has to end now." 

And with that Bill turned around, held his hands out, and fell back. 

***

Dipper looked up at Bill in horror as he held his Grunkle captive and in chains. He was twelve again, back in Gravity Falls, watching his uncle be tortured. Only he powerless to help. Ford struggled, wanting to protect his family, as well as himself. Bill was zapping him with a beam of electricity coming from his eye. Ford cried out in agony and Bill's friends just laughed. 

"Ready to talk now?" Bill asked in a condescending voice. Ford sighed, his head hung low. He unable to take anymore of the torture. 

"Fine, I'll give you the equation," said Ford, defeated. 

"FORD NO!" screamed Dipper, but nobody could hear him. He watched as Ford confessed the equation and Bill grew larger with each number, cackling triumphantly. Dipper watched as he easily broke the barrier, escaping Gravity Falls. He grew larger, acting like a kid in a toy store. He trampled the forests of Oregon, leaving his weirdness wherever he stepped. Dippers ears was flooded with the screams of innocent civilians, all of whom had no clue what was happening or why. 

Pop! Dipper was used to this by now, as he sat in the field. He looked up, expecting the usual gray and red skies but instead seeing Bill, in his human form looking down on him and smiling. 

"Well, Pine Tree, looks like it's time for you to leave here, it's a shame. Isn't this place fun?"

"No it's not! Now let me go!"

"Don't interrupt me! I wasn't finished! Anyways, if you want to know what's happened, you're dead! Or about to be. As of now you're falling from the water tower! But I'll miss inhabiting you, there was a lot more that I wanted to...explore. I was just giving you a heads up, see you in the afterlife!"


	9. The fight for Dipper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The affect of Dippers death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't talk about the title of this chapter I just got really lazy

Dying was just like Dipper had imagined it. Right before he hit the ground he was zapped back into his body, barely giving him time to process it. He smacked the ground with a loud THUMP. He could feel the bones in his body snap, his head hitting the ground first, cracking open on impact. At that Dipper was tossed out of his body, a ghost. 

He looked at his surroundings, and made the mistake of looking down at his own body. It was broken, bloody, hard to look at. And worst of all, it was being stared at by Mabel. Mabel cried and cried and his heart broke. Then it came to him, as he watched Mabel fall to her knees in defeat and embrace him. Bill had planned every second of it. Because now Mabel was mimicking the exact motions he made in his very first session where Mabel died. She stroked his hair and placed a kiss on his head, saying her final goodbye to her brother. 

Dipper screamed her name, even though he knew it would be no use. He begged her to hear him, to know that he wasn't really gone. She sobbed, a dark crimson color spreading to her own clothes and staining her hands. She didn't seem to notice though. She cried out for any soul that was nearby, for someone to help her, but alas, no one was around. Until the world faded to black and white. 

"Well well well, someone's looking desperate!" she didn't even look up from her brother, knowing what she'd see. Right now she couldn't bare to even look at the demon.

"Go away," she muttered between sobs. Bill, back in his triangle form, over-dramatically put a hand to his ear. 

"What was that? Couldn't hear you over your crying!"

"I said, GO AWAY!" she screamed, her voice cracking like crazy. 

"Jeez, fine. I just wanted to make a deal with you..." he said casually. There was a pause, and looked at her out of the corner of his vision to check if she had reacted. 

"Haven't you done enough?" she asked, almost whispering, "Isn't this what you wanted? Dipper dead, and me suffering because of it? What more could you possibly want?" Her voice was hoarse, her eyes were red and puffy. She was broken inside, and couldn't take any more of the demon's sick and twisted games. With Dipper gone, she wouldn't know how to go on. She had just been reunited with him, college separating them. She just wished she could talk to him one last time. 

"I don't want anything too extravagant, it's more about you'll get." he said. He pointed to Dipper's body and it illuminated. Mabel crawled back a bit, scared and unsure of what Bill would do next. 

"I can bring him back you know..." said Bill, trying to tease Mabel. Mabel looked up at him with a glimmer of hope, tears shining in the corners of her eyes. 

"What would I have to do?" she asked, her voice soft. Her mind set had changed in the span of about two seconds. She didn't care anymore. She didn't care about Bill's tricks or schemes or whatever he was planning. She just wanted Dipper back. And the funny thing was, Bill knew that. 

"Just bring me a little...token, if you will." he said evilly. 

"Well, what? What is it?"

Bill's voice dropped several octaves and said, "Tad Strange." Mabel gasped softly. "Bring him to me and I will revive your brother! Brand-spanking-new!"

Mabel stood up and took a deep breath, a determined look on her face. She knew that she was just digging herself a deeper hole, but right now all she cared about was seeing her brother again. "For Dipper." And she stuck out her hand. 

"Great!" Bill said. His hand once again burst into blue flames and Mabel willingly shook it. Dipper watched from his ghost form as it happened, dumbfounded and shocked. They were so caught up in Bill's games, the deals kept being made, and he kept winning. 

"You have one hour to bring him back here. Bye!" and with that, he disappeared and the world regained color. Mabel stood there for a moment, processing everything. Her brother was dead, but not for long, not on her watch. She snapped back to her senses, and ran back to the convenience faster than what seemed humanly possible. Dipper, still in ghost form, trailed close behind her, watching her do all of this, just for him. 

She arrived at the store and jumped inside looking around, panting wildly. "HAS ANYONE SEEN TAD STRANGE?" she yelled. Lazy Susan turned around. 

"Oh him? Yeah he just left, heard he was going out of town for a business trip to California. Hey, why are you covered in blood?" said Lazy Susan. Mabel's mind went into panic mode, but on the outside she was cool as a cucumber.

"What car does he drive?" asked Mabel urgently. 

"Just a short black little Chevy." answered Lazy Susan. Mabel nodded and ran back out of the store. She located her car in the parking lot and threw herself into it, turning it on. She speeded away from the store and quickly jumped onto the highway. She was flooring it, the speed limit was the last thing on her mind. She picked up her phone from the cupholder and dialed 911. 

"Yes, operator? I'd like to report a....an attempted s-s-suicide. Just down by the Gravity Falls water tower...Yes yes, just rush him to the hospital. He could still make it!" Mabel hung up the phone only to dial it once again. 

"Soos! Grab Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford and head down to the hospital, I'll explain later." Before Soos could say anything she hung up and drove as fast as her little hybrid car could take her. She thanked the maker that there was no traffic whatsoever, giving her plenty of room to break traffic laws. Then she saw it, a short little black Chevy, the only car on the road. She went even faster than before and drove right in front of Tad's car, stopping. Tad hit the breaks, making an investing screeching sound, millimeters away from Mabel's car. 

He got out of the car, angry. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You could've killed the both of us!" 

Mabel got out too. "Tad Strange, you've uh...you've just won a million dollars!" she said. His face brightened up.

"Really? Wow I've—wait a minute this seems fishy. Who are you working for?" he asked stepped towards her. 

"Look, Tad, I'm really sorry about this but it has to be done." And just like that Mabel grabbed him by the arm, held it against it his back and shoved him in her trunk. She could hear his yelling and pounding on the trunk door, which only made her more anxious. She felt horrible, putting Dipper's life over an innocent bystander. Tad had nothing to do with this, and yet he was going to pay. 

***

Bill checked his pocket-watch that he had just pulled out of his imaginary pocket. He inspected it. 

"Tick tock, Shooting Star..." he said this to himself, but he didn't care. He couldn't get much more crazy anyways. Just then, a car came screeching into the clearing, the brown haired girl in a sweater stepping out. 

"Well well well, just in time. So, did you bring me what I asked?" 

Silently she walked over to the trunk and opened it, revealing a flustered and more than angry Tad Strange. He immediately got up and out charging at Mabel and knocking her down. Mabel fought him off of her as he swung punches, trying to get out from under him to fight back. Bill simply rolled his eye. He raised his hands and the two floated into the air as well, unable to move. 

"I gotta say, Shooting Star, I'm impressed. Didn't think you had it in ya to kidnap a full grown man. Was kind of disappointed to see Pine Tree being hauled away in an ambulance, though. Welp, a deal's a deal." he said, and he snapped his fingers. Mabel fell to the ground. "There, your brother should be fine." Relief and happiness flooded through Mabel immediately, but another thought entered her head.

"What are you going to do with Tad, anyways?" asked Mabel, able to relax a bit now that Bill no longer had anything to hang over her head. Tad was frozen in mortal terror. 

"You'll see..." said Bill staring intently at the civilian, still suspended in the air by magic. He snapped his fingers once again and Tad's limbs hung down, lifeless. Mabel became a bit less relaxed. Bill dropped the man and flew into him. She backed up into the car, scared. He stood up and cracked his neck. Mabel could now see that the murder had caused one of his eyes to have a large red X crossed over it. Bill winced suddenly, and fell to his knees in concentration and pain. Tad's dark hair turned blond, except for the roots, which stayed dark. His legs grew longer, letting Bill stand up. He smiled, the smile itself becoming more evil by the second, twisting into something evil, his teeth ghostly white and sharp. He nose grew pointed his eyelashes comical. And lastly, as a bit of a final touch, a black triangle shaped eyepatch was placed over the red eye.

"Say hello to the new me, sweet cheeks."


	10. Remorse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of emotional in this chapter but it'll pick up in the next

BLEEP....BLEEP....BLEEP...Pain was all that Dipper could feel. His head hurt like hell, like someone was drilling into his brain. He excused it, though, giving that it had recently been cracked open. His whole body was aching, as if it had been shattered and haphazardly thrown back together. He didn't open his eyes, not yet, he was afraid what he would see. Ringing filled his ears, not letting any other sound in. He sucked in air and pushed it out, trying to keep himself from drifting back into unconsciousness. 

"Dipper? Dipper!" yelled Stan's voice. After a few breaths, Dipper coughed and his eyes gently fluttered open. He was laying down in a hospital bed, connected to a heart monitor. There was a bouquet of flowers next to his bed and his family surrounded him. He could see Stan, Ford, Wendy, Soos, and right smack in the middle was Mabel, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. 

"Mabel..." he wheezed. Mabel smiled and hugged her brother happily, burying her face in his shoulder. 

"I thought...I thought I lost you." she whispered. Dipper let a weak smile spread across his face and he feebly wrapped his bandaged arms around her. He ignored the blinding pains shooting up his no doubt recently broken arms, feeling it was worth it to hug his sister. She pulled away and stroked his cheek softly. Dipper looked around at his family, even Stan was dotting his eyes with a tissue.

"Dipper," said Ford with an endearing look on his face, "we were all so worried. What happened?"

Dipper looked up to Mabel with confusion, "You didn't tell them?" he asked. The others looked at them, anxious to know the events that took place. Mabel shook her head. 

"I wanted to wait until you were awake." she said. 

"Well what happened to me?" asked Dipper looking around at the people surrounding him. Stan sighed, taking up the duty of telling him. 

"Well, Mabel called us and told us to go to the hospital so we did and we found you in the emergency room. They said you had attempted suicide. You were on the operating table, fractured skull, shattered spine, the whole deal. Kid, you died. But then they found a pulse and now you're here. Every bone in place and spotless. Mabel got here, covered in blood might I add, and said she'd explain everything when you woke up."

Dipper paused and gaped at him, speechless. He sat there for a moment, taking it all in. Attempted suicide? How did his family try to live with that? How was he alive and well? The questions crowded his mind as his family patiently waited for answers. He sat there silently. 

"C'mon, Dipper, you gotta tell us what happened." Said Wendy. Dipper pursed his lips and looked down at the IV connected to his arm. He knew he had to tell them everything. It didn't matter how much trouble he'd get into, they deserved the truth. And Dipper needed help. 

"W-we summoned Bill," mumbled Dipper. Somehow, everyone heard him and collectively gasped. 

"You did WHAT?" asked Ford, panicked and angry. Stan shot him a look that said, "you can't be mad at him, he's in a hospital bed." Ford cleared his throat and took a deep breath. 

"How could you let this happen, Dipper?" he asked in a forced calm voice. 

"Well..." said Mabel in a high pitched voice, looking to Dipper. Dipper sighed. 

"Bill wasn't dead, he never was. He had been haunting us, very much real. Y-you didn't believe us. So we decided to take matters into our own hands. We both drove here, for he same reason, not knowing that either of us was driving here too. Then we decided we couldn't get rid of him if he wasn't here." Dipper's voice was barely above a whisper and his body was shaking like a leaf. He could feel his family's gaze upon him. Just talking about Bill was traumatizing. He grabbed Mabel's hand and squeezed it for moral support. And also just to remind him that she wasn't dead. She was here, alive. She was fine, but he wasn't. "We s-summoned him. He took over my body...and threw me out. I—" Dipper pursed his lips, digging his teeth into them trying to keep the tears welling up his eyes from spilling out. Mabel patted his hand in support. 

"I'll take it from here," she said to him with a soft smile. Everyone was acting so careful and gentle in the cramped hospital room, as if they were afraid they would break him. From there, Mabel continued to explain what happened, from her perspective. Dipper ate up every word, hearing what Bill had put her through. He was trying to figure out why Bill had put him through so much and stayed around Mabel just to act like a child. Dipper still held his sister's hand and unlike him, she was as steady as a rock. She told the story as it was, her voice void of any emotion.  
Dipper looked up at her with sympathy and began to reminisce. Sure, over the years they had both changed, he had become even less trusting and had grown stern, leaving behind his awkward teenage self. But Mabel....Mabel had been forced into a completely different personality. He watched her throw out her colorful sweaters, watched smiles leave her face, watched her try to cover up her forearms with neon bandaids...

She stood, explaining how what she thought was her mistake almost cost her one of the only things she had left. He listened intently to her stories of how she hard she worked for him. She had to protect her brother while watch the one who decided this fate for her treat Dipper like a discardable toy. And that's when Dipper realized why they had been punished the way they had. Mabel was right, she was always right. Their minds worked in different ways. While Bill had tortured Dippers mind, trying to push him to the edge, he had tortured Mabel with her own mind because he knew she was already on the edge. 

She finished her story by trailing off and ending where they were now. Everyone's eyes just kept flicking between Mabel and Dipper, processing all they had just heard. Dipper looked down, feeling guilty. 

"So, where's Bill now?" asked Ford. Mabel shrugged weakly.

"No idea, probably out, causing trouble." she said, not taking her eyes off the floor. 

"And Dipper will be fine?" asked Stan. 

"I don't know. Bill said he would save him but I can't trust his word." she said. The room returned to silence. Then, Soos took a deep breath. 

"Group hug, dudes." he said opening his arms. Dipper smiled brightly, a tear slipping out of his eye. And the family pulled in together around Dipper, embracing each other and grateful to have one another.

Mabel was grateful, too. But both her and her brother knew they couldn't rest until Bill was gone


	11. Good as new

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone still reading this?

"WHOO!" Bill yelled as he shook his long limbs out. He was totally loving this new body, deluxe and all his own. This time he didn't have to worry about some bratty little girl getting in the way of his clever plans. He was striding down the street of the town happily, ignoring the all strange looks he was getting.

He was elated that his plans weren't too difficult to fulfill, for there was no doubt in his mind that he would win the little game he was playing with the Pines family. Those particular two were way to ambitious for their own good. Whether or not he'd trick them wasn't even a debate, it was just about how much effort he'd have to put in. 

Everyone who walked by him was both weirded out and frightened by the appearance of him. There was something about his new form that gave the townsfolk blurry, eerie flashbacks of a certain apocalypse they'd rather forget. But they had buried the memories so far down they couldn't quite put their fingers on who the monstrosity reminded them of. Bill had been successful in remodeling his meatsuit, pretty much no one had recognized the poor Tad Strange's former body. Since Tad was in fact and very much dead, Bill could basically do anything he wanted with his body. After all, it WAS Bill's body now. 

He came to an abrupt stop and smiled up at the building in front of him. The mall, what a wonderful place of human culture. Time for this vessel to receive a little class. 

***

Dipper was up and walking about an hour after he had woken up in the hospital bed. He was surprised that the demon had delivered what he had promised, and he felt good as new. Well almost. His body still ached with the pain of...y'know....falling off a fucking water tower. And his back had a searing pain spread across it like it had been burned or scratched up.

The doctors were still completely baffled with the situation, they would have been calling what happened a miracle. That is, if they weren't in Gravity Falls. They simply told Dipper he was healed and that he could go home and left the mystery alone. 

The car ride home with Mabel as he driver was silent. They both assumed that talking wasn't going to be necessary because they were both thinking the same thing, what do we do now? The held hands as the car sped through the town and into the woods. Neither knew why they were holding hands, they assumed it was because of how scared they were of losing each other and how thankful that they were reunited, and in one piece too. 

Mabel cleared her throat to break the silence, "I uh, think everyone's going to want to celebrate you, um, getting your body back." 

"Oh that's...that's nice." Dipper said. They pulled into the Mystery Shack parking lot and exited the car. As they walked into the gift shop they could see Grunkle Stan hanging around and talking to a tall blond man while Soos was away in the museum portion of the Shack giving tours. 

Mabel screamed and Dipper froze, his eyes widened. Stan and Bill looked over to the siblings in surprise. Bill's shocked expression faded into a sly smile as he saw who it was. 

"Hey, kids! You're home! I was just talking to this fine gentleman. What did you say your name was again?" Stan said. Bill was distracted at the sight of Dipper and Mabel. 

"Hmm? Oh yes, well that's not really important right now. So!" Bill slithered closer to the two. "Ah! The Mystery Twins! Haven't I heard SO much about you two!" His twisted smile and razor sharp teeth paraded the words, like he was putting on a show. A velvet black top hat sat on the top of his yellow blonde hair, a cane in his long fingers. A eyepatch was placed on top of his eye, the other was yellow. He wore a golden vest and a long black overcoat with a dramatic bow tie sitting under his chin. 

Dipper was frozen in fear as he looked up at the so-called man. He was much taller than him, and resembled the incarnation of Bill Dipper saw when he was locked out of his own body. Suddenly he came back to his senses he balled his hand into a fist and clocked Bill square in the jaw. Mabel let out a little squeal and Stan gasped. 

Bill held his jaw in shock and exhaled in an offended tone. He cleared his throat and straighter his tie. Dipper was still panting and holding his bruised fist at his side with a angered expression on his face. 

"Well, Pine Tree, didn't know you had it in you. You'll pay for that later. Stanley, I'll be leaving now, it was pleasant talking with you. Now, if you'll excuse me I have some deals to make." Bill straightened his coat and swiftly walked out. Stan gaped at the closed door. 

"Was...was that...?" he mumbled. Both of the twins nodded. Dipper took a deep breath. 

"Where's Ford?" he asked. 

"Downstairs. Hey we were gonna—" Stan got cut off by the twins accepting the information on Ford. Dipper and Mabel bolted past the vending machine and down to their other great uncle. They could see him looking over what looked like notes. 

"FORD!" they yelled in unison as they rounded the corner. He looked up and was startled with their urgent tones. 

"What's going on?" he asked. 

"We know where Bill is." Mabel blurted out. 

"What? Where is he?" Ford asked in a serious tone as he stood up. 

"He was just here! He left to go make deals with people!" Dipper stated, his voice cracking a bit.

"And you let him get away?!?" barked Ford. 

"Well what were we supposed to do? Hog tie him in the middle of the gift shop?" Mabel retorted, "Besides, Dipper gave him a good punch to the jaw." She elbowed Dipper in the side in a sisterly way. 

"Well I suppose that is true..." pondered Ford.

"We'll take care of him," the younger boy said, making up his mind. 

"No way. do you two recall what happened last time you 'took care of it?' "

"Well what do you suppose we do? Have you take care of it, the elderly man?" the girl sassed. Ford scowled at her, not able to think of a comeback. 

"Look you guys, just—just figure out his plans and whatever you do, don't make a deal with him." retorted Ford while he rubbed his face. Mabel and Dipper did a celebratory high five and ran back upstairs. They exited the Shack and made their way into the woods, brainstorming while taking a relaxing walk. Mabel swung on the branches as she thought and swung her legs around aimlessly. Dipper stared at the ground, contemplating their next move. 

"Now. If I was Bill Cipher, where would I be...?" Dipper thought out loud. 

"Right in front of ya!" yelled that all-too-familiar voice. The twins looked up at the blond and gasped at the shapeshifter he held on a leash.


	12. Rage and Shapeshifters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's still reading this tell me what you think please

"Y'know, if that great uncle of yours really wanted to hide this thing, he should have chosen a more secretive spot than his stupid hideout." said Bill as he patted the shapeshifter. The white slimy creature that stood before them laughed menacingly. It red eyes and claws looked so much more frightening in the daylight. It scanned its familiar subject changed into Dipper. Bill watched it like a proud parent as it mimed Dipper dying. It pretended to stab itself in the stomach and fall to the ground, clutching his stomach and sputtering out non existent blood. Once the little charade was finished it returned to its natural form and laughed once again. Mabel charged towards Bill in anger, trying to give him a piece of her mind. 

"Oh no you don't, sweetheart," Bill mocked and flicked his finger. But alas, she hadn't stopped running and tackled him to the ground. With an "oof" Bill's back slammed into the forest floor and Mabel pinned him there. The leash from the shapeshifter slipped from Bill's hand amidst the confusion and it started to escape. 

"NO—" cried Bill but he was interrupted by Mable punching him in the face. Dipper sprinted after the creature but it simply started to change into different townsfolk, cackling. Dipper watched as he was chasing after Deputy Durland, Toby Determined, and Lazy Susan one at a time. 

Meanwhile Bill was spitting up black blood, trying to get the wrathful Mabel off of him. He finally knocked her down onto the ground beside him and got out a few words.

"You stupid girl, you let the monster loose!" he spat. Mabel gasped, noticing the absence of the shapeshifter. She scowled back down at the demon. 

"What did you DO?!?" she yelled and kicked him straight in the family jewels. Bills visible eye looked like it would pop straight out of his head, and his glove covered hand reached for his groin in agony. A smirk spread across her face as she looked down at the pain filled man beside her. 

"If...you hadn't...attacked...me...this wouldn't...have happened." groaned Bill. He coughed and a bit more blood dropped from his mouth. "My powers, t-t-they didn't work." he stammered in confusion. He pushed himself up from the ground and onto his feet. He shook out his hand, trying to get a blue flame to emerge. It didn't work. He did it again, a little blue spark started to grow but then fizzled out. 

"FUCK!" he yelled in anger. He turned around to Mabel and jabbed her in the chest with his finger. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Mabel looked up at him without fear, knowing he was a mere man now. However, his eye still glowed red. 

"My fault??" she asked in an offended tone, placing a hand on her chest, "I did everything YOU asked for. This is far from my fault." 

Dipper appeared back in the circle of trees, gasping for breath. Bill looked up at him, annoyed to no end. 

"Tell me you got the shapeshifter." demanded Bill, unwilling to take any answer besides the one he wanted. Dipper looked up at from the ground, catching his breath for just enough time to answer. 

"Oh yeah, and I just made him turn into a speck of dust!" Dipper sassed back over dramatically. Bill practically had smoke coming out of his ears. 

"DO NOT PLAY GAMES WITH ME PINE TREE!" shouted Cipher. Dipper put his hands in his pockets casually. 

"You should calm down. I'm sure with your fancy powers can get that creature back in no time." advised Dipper. Bill cried out in rage. 

"I DON'T HAVE MY POWERS YOU NEANDERTHAL SLAB OF MOLECULES." he screamed. Dipper shrugged. 

"Than you're in no position to be giving out orders." Dipper kicked a rock, acting bored. He had the being in front of him right where he wanted. Mabel was watching in amusement at what was going on before her, she knew she was safe from anything that the demon could do. Bill had tears coming out of his scarlet eye he was so mad. 

"ENOUGH OF THESE GAMES!" screamed Bill, throwing his hands out to his sides which would usually make all of the objects float up in his control. He stood there, panting for a moment before his eye faded back to yellow and he crumbled into the ground. Mabel walked over to him and tapped him carefully, unsure of how he'd react. Dipper also slowly made his way over to the man carefully and more subtle. Bill flipped over onto his back staring up into the sky with a dried tear in his tan cheek. 

"Let's just get that shapeshifter back."

***

Dipper carefully picked up the gun tucked away in the basement of the Shack. Ford was sleeping softly and snoring loudly just a few meters away. Once Dipper had lifted it he tucked the intimidating weapon into his bag. He then grabbed a small pistol, a throwing knife, and a net gun for trapping things. He stuffed these all into his already full bag and slowly went back up the elevator and into the shack. He looked out, making sure the gift shop was deserted before stepping out. Wendy was suddenly standing in front of him. 

"What are you doing?" she demanded with her scratched up arms crossed. Dipper pursed his lips. "Look dude, I don't care what you do as long as you don't go looking for trouble." she said seriously. Dipper chuckled. 

"This summer it feels like the trouble is looking for me," he said hoisting his backpack higher on his one shoulder. Wendy shrugged and started to walk away. 

"Just looking out for ya, kid." she said as she left. Dipper exhaled heavily and darted out of the shack before somebody else stopped him or figured out what he was doing. Outside Bill was leaning up against the totem pole mysteriously, Mabel close by and refusing to look as the monstrosity. 

"So what are we gonna do?" asked Dipper. Mabel looked up from the ground and took a roll of bandages out of her identical backpack. She started to roll up her arms, trying to look like a badass in front of the demon. 

"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do," she answered in an angered tone, "I'm gonna stay here with Ford and try and figure out a way to get rid of HIM." She sneered at Bill and he snarled right back. 

"Okay! Okay! You two, calm down." he pointed to both of them. Mabel continued to wrap up her forearms and Bill crossed his arms childishly. "Since I want that shapeshifter gone and I don't trust him, I'll go with Bill to get the monster. Mabel, you stay with Ford and try to find out how to take care of Cipher." 

"Hey!" squeaked Bill, "I'm standing right here! I could just abandon you right here right now y'know."

"With your fantastical powers and great running skills? Yeah, I don't think so." Dipper retorted. Bill huffed at him resentfully. "You'll help me with the monster and then we'll see."

"Okay fine, I'll help you." Bill didn't know why he was being so stubborn. Without his powers he didn't know what he was supposed to do now. Maybe if he helped the boy he'd get them back. Hah, wishful thinking. It was kind of strange, Bill didn't know why but he kind of felt like he actually wanted to help Dipper. Maybe it was this ridiculously idiotic human body of his, but Bill knew deep down he kind of wanted to get to know the now grown Pine Tree a bit better. 

Dipper nodded. "Alright then. Let's go


	13. The search begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh okay so I guess now that the whole "Dipper is possessed and everyone is intense" thing is over we can dive right into the ships. Lemme know what you guys think!

Mabel grunted as she did another sit up. She could feel her abdomen burning and she knew it would be sore in the morning, but she kept her hands tucked behind her ponytail. It was like an invisible force was pushing her up and back down. The grass was flattened by her body and the soupy summer air surrounded her. She could hear the sounds of the outdoors as the cicadas buzzed and a distant owl hooted. The orange sun sitting on the horizon made her even more sweaty than she already was. As the beads of sweat made her hair wet and clothes stick to her, a visitor popped out of the woods. 

Her blonde hair was straightened perfectly, a hint of brown peeking out from the roots. Expensive cut-off jean shorts hugged her defined waist and full hips and a ruffled rich purple tank-top hung from her shoulders. Mascara was perfectly applied on her long eyelashes, hidden by her long elegant bangs. Pacifica Northwest was standing in front of a panting, sweating, gleaming Mabel Pines and the picture of it made her flustered.

She shook her head and cleared her throat, announcing her presence. Mabel stopped at the top of her sit-up and looked up at Pacifica. She had grown into her adult facial features and it fit her quite nicely. Her curves were smooth and exaggerated, demanding Mabel's attention, and the shorts the blonde was wearing were....eye catching. She had grown up, and in a good way. 

"What are you doing here, Pacifica?" Mabel asked, planting her hands on the grass behind her. Pacifica began to examine her manicured nails nonchalantly. 

"Oh nothing, just stopping by. There's been some rumors going on around town about the famed Mystery Twins returning so I decided to come down to the old Mystery Shack and see what's up."

"Oh," Mabel nodded, not knowing what to add. 

"What are you doing right now?" asked Pacifica trying to act like she didn't care about the answer. 

"Just, y'know, killing some time. I was going to consult my uncle about taking down a certain someone, but he happened to be taking what I assumed was a much needed nap so I decided to leave him alone."

"Oh that's good, I guess." said Pacifica. She purses her lips and Mabel kept staring up at her, waiting for the next sentence. "You need any help?" blurted out Pacifica, "with your certain someone, I mean." She smiled awkwardly. Mabel smiled back, sincerely. 

"Yeah...yeah that'd be great, actually." Mabel said nodding to herself, thinking of how she could use extra help. 

"Great!" said Pacifica, laughing at her own gawky behavior. She sat down on the dry grass next to Mabel. "So," she started, "how's life?"

***

Dipper knawed on his already chewed up pen as he leaned up against a telephone pole, thinking. A sassy and bored Bill Cipher stood next to him, unimpressed and rolling his eyes obnoxiously, desperately trying to draw attention to himself. The quiet hustle-bustle of the small town surrounded them. Dipper was too deep in thought to notice, though. And Bill simply didn't care. 

"Come ON, Pine Tree, I'm bored!" Bill suddenly shouted as he hung onto the telephone poll. Dipper was momentarily pulled out of his brainstorming session. 

"I'm trying to think of a plan for catching the beast YOU let out." Dipper leered at Bill. Bill shook his head.

"All you gotta do is go around town, look out for suspicious behavior, and ask around if anybody's seen anything. It's simple."

"But—" Dipper was interrupted by a look that said Bill knew he was right. Dipper nodded. "Okay fine we'll try that. But if it doesn't work out I'm blaming you." Dipper said, trying to act serious.

"Alright then let's go." answered Bill blandly. He smiled at Dipper and Dipper tried not to return the gesture but couldn't help but crack a smile. This gave Bill's cold body a bit of a warm feeling inside and he didn't know why. They started to walk down the cracked and the demon sighed. He was starting to get feelings for the human. He couldn't help it. He knew Dipper wouldn't reciprocate it, but Bill still wanted it. Bad. 

***

Dipper slammed his hand on the table angrily. The forks and knives on the table rattled as he did so. They were at the diner, scoping it out for info, but were so far unsuccessful. 

"So far nobody has seen anything! The shapeshifter could be anywhere!" he said. He then sighed and rested his head in his hands, frustrated and exhausted from the exceedingly long day he had.m. Bill was twirling one of the dull knives between his slender, gloved fingers. 

"Don't worry, we'll work on it tomorrow. We can even try your plan." said Bill casually. He yawned unexpectedly, never before experiencing such a sensation. His surprise and confusion at such a mundane action made Dipper snicker, which made Bill smile. 

"Ugh, I don't even know where we're gonna sleep." Dipper said rubbing his face. Bill frowned. 

"Why can't we just sleep at the shack?" he asked innocently. 

"Because," replied Dipper, "you think my uncles are going to be happy when I bring YOU home? Uh uh," Bill was indifferent about these comments. "We'll have to sleep at a motel. I would go back to the Mystery Shack and leave you to fend for yourself, but I want to keep an eye on you." 

Bill was slightly offended yet unsurprised by the mistrust. So from there they got up and left. They rode in the car silently to the closest and cleanest motel, Bill not wanting anything too grimy touching him. They pulled into the parking lot and walked inside. As they approached the check in, the lady was apparently too busy with whatever was in her computer to look up at the strange customers. Dipper cleared his throat and the lady looked up. She was a bit thrown off by Bill's appearance, but in this town it wasn't too far from the norm. 

"One room, two beds, please. Cheapest you got." Dipper told the woman. She typed a bit on her computer, bored. 

"Sorry, we only have one room left." she said, obviously faking her remorse. 

"And??" asked Dipper, frustrated. 

"And it only has one bed." This made Bill's ears perk up a bit. Dipper grumbled and turned to him. 

"Should we just take it?" he whispered to the blond. Bill was caught off guard by Dipper including him in the decision. 

"Well, we're already here." said Bill, flustered. Dipper turned back around. 

"We'll take it."


	14. Empathy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper and Bill are talking and yelling.

Dipper slammed the motel room door shut and let his heavy and chunky backpack slide off of his shoulder. It hit the ground with a "plop" and the top popped open, spilling the various weapons and research out onto the floor. Bill eyed the weapons mischievously, feeling the temptation to use them. His instincts told him to kill people, torture people. But he knew that doing that would mean nothing but certain death for him. If the Pines family thought he was doing horrible things, he knew that they would come after him. And in this new powerless, feeble human body, he could easily be wiped off the face of the earth. But there was another reason that Bill didn't pick up the machine gun and go bat-shit crazy like that voice in the back of his head told him to. He kind of felt like he WANTED to earn Dipper's trust. Perhaps it was just so he could manipulate him. But Bill thought that maybe, just maybe...it was for something else. 

Dipper tore off his light jacked and flopped onto the bed, making the bed springs creak like crazy. As he landed on his back a searing pain shot through him, reminding him for the first time in a while of the pain he had but he chose to ignore it. He breathed deeply, soaking in the one bit of rest he had gotten in what had felt like weeks for him. He was exhausted, and the stiff, disease-ridden bed felt like heaven on his aching muscles. He felt like he could start snoring when he felt something...strange. A hand, was it? Yes, a hand was definitely playing with his hair. Dipper's eyes slammed open and he sat up to see Bill sitting over him, surprised. 

"Why were you touching my hair?" asked Dipper. Bill was at a loss for words. 

"....it looked soft." he muttered. Dipper had a look of disgust on his face. "Hey that's not fair!" said Bill at the sight of the expression, "I've never been able to appreciate human senses! Except for maybe pain, but that's not the point! Your hair....it looked like it would be very pleasurable to feel."

"Funny because you could have felt it during the times when you occupied this body!"

Bill huffed. "That's not fair, either. I had a reason for that."

"For what, petty revenge? What a incredible answer, you're totally forgiven!" snapped Dipper. Bill was angry, but his eyes maintained a yellow glow. 

"So what you're telling me is that you don't want revenge on me? That if you had the chance you wouldn't put me through what I did to you? Hm?!"

"That's a completely different circumstance, you almost killed us!"

"And you killed me!" Silence echoed throughout the grimey room. Bill sighed, "Look, kid we've all done some bad things in our lives. You took away everything I'd worked for for thousands of years! Only to work harder to regain the strength to possess a body. Seven years is a lot longer in the vast nothingness of a destroyed memory, Pine Tree. It was only business."

Dipper felt an odd wave of guilt rush over him. He did see how Bill could be mad at him...and he did like the idea of putting Bill through endless sequences of torture, even before Bill did it to him. 

"That's neither here nor there, Bill. You tried to kill an entire town, including children!" Dipper said, completely hiding the bit of empathy he had. 

"That's right, TRIED. I didn't actually do it, nor did I kill anyone. The only ones I wanted to kill were you and your sister, and rightfully so. We all make mistakes, kid." Bill said slipping his over coat off. 

"This isn't some silly character flaw, Bill! You are evil!"

"And your talking like you're perfect. Let's not forget all you've done. Cheated, lied, betrayed. You harbored that endless lust for the paranormal, you never quit. And you left your family behind in the process. And let's not forget all of those things you hunted and killed in your teen years. Your record isn't crystal clear either."

"That's different!"

"How?! How can you excuse your sins but not mine?!?!" Bill took a deep breath and chuckled, "Lemme tell you, it's a lot easier to be endlessly evil and chaotic when you're a being of pure energy. Not that many ranges of emotion. Add that to the eons of living in the dimension of insanity and being all of a sudden thrown into a functioning human body and it's not easy."

Dipper looked over at Bill, the demon actually looking like a person for the first time since he had met him. His golden eye was closed, his head hung low, his hands facing palm up on his lap. Dipper looked to Bill, sympathy flashing in his eye as a black tear slipped out from underneath Bill's signature three clumps of lashes. 

Dipper felt awkward and uncomfortable, not sure what to do. Bill took a deep breath and wiped away his single tear. 

"It's just, stupid human emotions. Not used to it." he said. He looked down at his unearthly hands, lanky and demonic and slowly slipped off his gloves to reveal severely burnt hands. He laughed. "Pain's hilarious. Just didn't realize the marks it could leave." he said grimly. Dipper knew Bill needed help. Dipper didn't want to be the one to give it to him but he knew he didn't have much of an option. He walked over to his bag on the floor and fished something out. 

Bill was examining his burnt hands and thinking about if he had his powers how quickly he could heal them. Something cold suddenly nudged him. He looked up to see the boy, holding a soda. 

"Take it." said Dipper. Bill did and was pleased at how the cold can felt against his burnt hands. It was already opened for him too. With a PSSHT Dipper opened his and took a swig. He watched Bill, unsure about the soda slowly put it up to his eye. 

"No no." said Dipper. And he pushed the soda back down to Bills mouth. The brunet demonstrated how to drink it slowly and Bill mirrored his actions. 

"There you go." Dipper smiled. Bill glugged down the soda, unaware of how thirsty he was. He then gasped for air as he pulled it away from his mouth, momentarily forgetting about human's need for oxygen. From there he drank it casually, Dipper sitting next to him. 

"Do you trust me?" asked Bill. Dipper took a sip. 

"Nope." he answered. Bill snickered. 

"Smart man,"


	15. Sorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FEELINGS

Dipper slammed his Pitt cola back down on the bedside table after taking a swig satisfyingly. "We've gotta go to bed early if we're gonna catch that shapeshifter in the morning."

"Oh," muttered Bill. He had forgotten that he was human now, and that humans need sleep. He watched as Dipper ran his fingers through his own lumpy, brown hair. He then clawed at the bottom of his shirt to pull it over his head. Bill gulped and looked at Dipper's back, marked up with scratched that spelled out symbols and a picture of Bill's triangle form as the centerpiece. Dipper stretched his arm around to rub his back in pain. Bill felt rushed of guilt and fear that the boy would find out what was on his back. Markings, in ancient languages that spelled something out. This vessel was Bill's, and no other demon could possess him. 

Then, to Bill's surprise, Dipper pulled down his pants to reveal plaid boxers. Bill could feel his tanned cheeks get red hot. Dipper pulled down the covers, placed a pillow in the middle of the bed and slipped in it. Bill just stood there, frozen in place. 

"Are you gonna get in the bed or not?" asked Dipper, refusing to make eye contact with the demon. Bill didn't remove any clothing like Dipper had, but just climbed into the bed and faced him, the human's marked up back turned to him. Once again, Bill slowly reached up and ruffed and petted Dipper's auburn hair. 

Surprisingly, this time, Dipper let him. And with a slight smile tugging at his cheeks as he did so. 

***

"Ford," Mabel said softly as she tapped her great uncles shoulder. He stirred for a but, but did not wake. His floppy gray hair fell over his glasses, his arms functioning as a pillow for his head on the research covered table. A light blanket lay over his shoulders, no doubt put there by his brother. He was getting old—er—older. His hair was more white now, his joints more crickety. His wasn't able to really go on adventures anymore, but simply observe. 

"He's not waking up," said Pacifica, her arms crossed. Mabel shook him and he lazily and slowly woke up. 

"Hmm?" he rubbed his eyes under his glasses. Mabel scrunched down so her eyes would meet his. 

"Hey, Grunkle Ford, how you doing?" she asked in a sympathetic voice. 

"I'd be better if I hadn't fallen asleep at this damn table again," he grouched. Mabel and Pacifica looked to each other and nodded. 

"We, uh, we need your help." Mabel said, getting straight to the point. His eyes widened and he stood up. 

"Is this about Bill?" he asked in a hushed tone. Mabel chuckled. 

"Who else would it be about?" she said, clearly annoyed at Bills constant torment. Pacifica looked at Mabel with newfound sorrow. On her face, a tired expression. She peeked around to look at Mabel's forearms but they were covered in bandages. Pacifica was flooded with guilt, at Mabel's life. She had been doing this since childhood, fighting spirits, never getting a break. The things that the girl had to endure to have such a aura of happiness be ripped from her. While Mabel was having near death experiences every other day, Pacifica's biggest problem was her family name. 

"Well," said Ford straightening his dusty glasses, "if Bill's taken on a new form, even if it isn't his own, if we want to get rid of him we would be able to form the circle but the window for that has unfortunately closed." 

"Why?" asked Pacifica innocently, immediately regretting this question. Ford peered at her over his glasses. 

"Because," he straightened a stack of papers, "Fiddleford is dead." Mabel gasped and Pacifica put her hand over her mouth. Ford closed his eyes, trying to keep his emotions under the surface. "So, we'll have to kill him. Which is quite tedious when it comes to dream demons. We can't just banish him, he'll just come back again. So, where is he?" 

"He's running around, Dippers trying to catch him." Mabel immediately, lying straight through her teeth. 

"So I guess we'll have to wait until he's caught. You girls can help him." said Ford, "In the meantime, I'll be looking some things up. You can go now." 

Mabel and Pacifica nodded strongly and went upstairs. They checked first to see if the coast was clear, which it was. They stepped out into the gift shop. A thought popped into Mabel's head. 

"Hey wanna see something?" asked Mabel, looking to Pacifica with excitement. 

"Sure," she responded. Mabel looked around a bit and gasped when she found what she was looking for. She then revealed a ladder leading to the roof, old and unsturdy as it was. Mabel climbed up the ladder quickly and Pacifica warily followed her. She was unsure about this, she didn't want to fall or get her hands too dirty either for that matter. She looked up to see Mabel reaching her hand out. Pacifica smiled and took it. She was then pulled up to the roof of the Mystery Shack with a rather nice view of the woods. Mabel sat down and patted the space beside her. Pacifica took a seat. 

"So how've you been?" asked Mabel casually. 

"Oh, um, good, I guess?" Pacifica sighed and looked down at her lap, "I moved out of my parents house. A while ago actually, when I was seventeen. They immediately cut me off, except for tuition fees. But besides that I've actually been living like a normal person since then."

She smiled lightly and Mabel blushed. Mabel never realized how pretty Pacifica was when she wasn't sneering. She seemed like a completely new person. Mabel placed a hand on Pacifica's leg, and Pacifica's face flushed red. 

"Once I graduated high school I headed off to art school and have been doing my own thing. This week was actually the first time I had seen Dipper in a while." Mabel's smile faded from her face and she pulled her hand back into her own lap. Feelings and memories flooded back into her head so quickly she didn't know it was happening. Pacifica watched as tears piled up in the corners of her eyes. 

"Why'd you come back?" Pacifica asked. Mabel shut her eyes tightly, the tear running down her face. 

"Bill, he..." Mabel didn't finish her sentence, but the blonde still understood. She grabbed the crying girl's hand and squeezed it. Mabel let a sob escape and suddenly embraced the other girl. It was abrupt and unexpected, but the two melted into it, sitting I the roof of the Mystery Shack.


	16. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper and Bill continue the search for the shapeshifter

Dipper's eyes snapped open the second his alarm clock went off. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his tired eyes. The motel was not a pleasant place to wake up to, he would have much rather slept in his bed at the Mystery Shack and wake up to his family making breakfast. But instead he woke up next to a demon and to the suspicious smell of weed from the room next to them. 

At least now, he thought, the demons next to me and not in my head. It had been a while since Dipper hadn't waken up shaking and sweaty from a nightmare. 

His back still seared with pain from who knows what, but Dipper ignored it at he forced on a shirt. Once he was dressed, he gathered his stuff up in his backpack and stared at Bill. So peaceful and quiet, his chest slowly rising and falling. He was sleeping in the fetal position, but tighter than the average person. His knees pulled close to his chest, taking up almost no space at all. 

Dipper walked over to him and shook his shoulder. The demon stirred, but did not wake. He shook him harder and Bill's eye opened quickly and he gasped. He sat up and started to laugh. 

"So that's what a dream feels like when you're not in control." he chuckled. This made Dipper smile for a second before it fell from his face. 

"Look, we've gotta go." he said. Bill nodded slowly, processing what he just said. They exited the dingy room and left the motel. They then drove to town in the car without speaking, but the radio was playing the latest crappy hit so they were both content. Their destination was only down the street. Dipper had a well thought out plan in his head, but he refused to reveal anything to Bill. 

"Here" said Dipper, stopping the car and exiting. Bill climbed out of the car awkwardly and looked up at the building they had arrived at. The museum. 

"What are we doing at the Gravity Falls museum?" he asked, trying to catch up with the boy. Dipper started to climb the steps, taking them two at at time. He was focused, he wanted to get back to his normal life as soon as possible, he wanted to stop this madness. 

"There's important information we need in here. We had no luck with our own observations and we need to now collect some data on the mannerisms of this creature."

"Woah, slow down there, Pine Tree," teased Bill, Dipper cringed at his nickname. "Those are some fancy words you're using." 

Dipper rolled his eyes and continued to trudge into the building when all of a sudden, a bright and cheery figure popped out in front of him. 

"Hey bro-bro!" It was Mabel. She was wearing a rather bright purple t shirt with a cats head on it. He hair was cascading over her shoulders, a thick headband holding her bangs out of her face. A smile stretched across her face. 

"Hi, Mabel. What are you doing here?" asked Dipper, confused. 

"Oh nothing, just hanging around. Say, do you want to go to Lazy Susan's Diner?" she peeped. Dipper frowned. She was talking weird, what had made her so cheery?

"Um, no. I need to find the shapeshifter, remember? And aren't you supposed to be working with Ford?" Dipper had a strange look on his face while Bill watched, intrigued at the exchange. 

"Oh, right. Well I decided to take a break!" she squeaked, her arms tucked behind her back like an anime character. It was then when Dipper caught on. 

"Y'know what? I'm gonna go get some things done, and you can go back to the shack." he said slowly and carefully. Bill was entertained. 

"No! Come with me!" she demanded, tugging on his arm. Dipper was just about to say no, when he started to contemplate his options, trying to decide which would be the way to go. He knew he would be trapped in this conversation until he agreed, she wouldn't let him pass her. So, he nodded. 

"Okay." said Dipper. She smiled so wide it was unsettling. " but I have to get something out of my bag."

The creature watched as Dipper reached into his bag and whipped out a large gun. There was no one around in the museum, just them. 

"D-D-Dipper? What are you doing?" she said, holding her hands in front of her and backing away slowly. Pure fear was spread across her face. 

"You're not my sister." he sneered, aiming the gun. She shook her head. Tears ran down her face so obnoxiously that her face was soaked. 

"Yes I am! Dipper, please don't do this!" she cried, "PLEASE!"

"Liar!" he shouted. She cried even harder, her whole body shaking in terror. 

"You can't kill me! I'm your sister, your twin! Please! Trust me!" she pleaded, falling to her knees. Dipper cocked the gun. 

"Trust no one."

And with those final words, the creature's blood was splattered across the wall behind them, a gaping hole in Mabel's head. But what was once Mabel slowly started to evolve back into the shapeshifter's natural form, a monster. 

"Guess we don't need the research. Let's go." he said in a monotone voice. Bill was surprised and impressed at Dippers actions, and couldn't stop staring at his blood spattered face as they made their way back to the vehicle. 

The car smelt strongly of leather and spilt soda and the floor was littered in various wrappers. Bill, a former being of chaos, felt that the car was too quiet and too still. He took a breath. 

"How did you bear to kill your sister...just like that? To see her dead?" asked Bill. Dipper kept staring straight ahead. 

"You see, I had practice, thanks to you." he snarled. Bills face flushed with guilt. There was a time pause before Dipper spoke again. "Where was I?" he said sternly. Bill frowned. 

"What?" 

"When you had my body, where was I?" he said, clearly still angry about the whole situation. Bill pursed his lips. "C'mon, triangle, you were the one who brought up the topic!"

Bill sighed. "You were in...a different dimension. I remember your uncle was there for a bit when he was in the portal. It was a very unstable dimension, very easy to manipulate. Seemingly endless fields, enough to make a person such as yourself go crazy. Little did you know, though, that if you went far enough there was a forest. I was kinda hoping you'd never make it there, though, that's where all the monsters like me live. You'd stir up such a mess I wouldn't know what to do! Sending you there, manipulating the landscape, and bringing you back used up a lot of my energy too. You're lucky I care about you so much, Pine Tree."

A scowl covered Dippers face, angry at what Bill said. As if using up energy to torture him was some sort of compliment. He was angry that he never found the forest that contained other monsters like Bill. He was angry at himself for forgetting what Bill had done. Dipper bit his lip, silently cursing himself for forgetting who Bill was. A monster. Nothing more, nothing less. 

"Look, Pine Tree, I—"

"STOP IT!" yelled Dipper. Bill looked utterly surprised at what just happened. 

"Stop what?" he said innocently. 

"Stop calling me that name! You said you were changed, that you wanted redemption!"

"I...I do." Bill answered sheepishly. 

"Then act like it! Stop calling me that horrible name! Do you know anything about me? That I'm more than just a symbol on a wheel and a blip in a prophecy?"

"Well, you're more than a blip—"

"That's not the point! The point is..." he sighed. "The point is, if you want me to treat you like a human, get rid of your old habits. It's insulting and degrading. The name itself reminds me of that goddamn field and the hell you put me through when I was younger! So stop!" Dipper was practically panting by the he ended his speech. He felt like a large weight just got lifted from his shoulders. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and the car was back to silence.


	17. Restrained

SLAM! Dipper angrily shut his car door and marched up to the Mystery Shack. Meanwhile, Bill was rattling the car door handle as hard as he could, but the child safety lock had the upper hand. 

"HEY!" he yelled from the car, frantically trying to find a way to unlock the strange car, but Dipper ignored him. He opened the door and walked swiftly into the Shack. The gift shop was freshly stocked and the room was empty. Dipper punched in the code to the vending machine door before heading down to the basement. Grunkle Ford was leafingthrough an old book, and silently mouthing the words. 

"Ford," Dipper said, getting the old man's attention. Stanford turned around and looked up to Dipper, proud of what he was about to say. "I've got him, I've got Bill." Ford stood up at the news, clutching the book to his chest. His face was wrinkled, heavy bags under his eyes. He straightened his glasses and cleared his throat. 

"Go get Mabel and bring him here." he instructed. Dipper nodded and marched back up the stairs and to the attic. He opened the door and Mabel and Pacifica was sitting on the bed, facing each other and giggling. Once the door had opened, the giggling stopped and Mabel turned around and got up. 

"Dipper? What happened?" she asked, concerned. 

"What's she doing here?" he replied sternly. Mabel crossed her arms. 

"She's here to help." she answered. Dipper nodded.

"Good, we'll need it. C'mon, I've got Bill locked in the car and Ford wants us to bring him to the basement." Mabel nodded and all three of them went to go grab the demon. When they got outside, he was in the car, still frantically struggling with the door. 

Keys in hand, Dipper braced himself to open the door. Bill looked up. 

"Hey! Let me out!" he wailed. Dipper nodded to the girls and the door flew open, and the demon spilled out onto the ground. Dipper and Mabel dove onto him, each grabbing hold of an arm. They both held on tightly and lifted the demon up while he kicking violently. He put up quite the fight, screaming as he was dragged inside, lead by Pacifica. They reached the inside of the Shack and there stood Ford, crossing his arms, satisfied. Bill looked up to Dipper with fear spread across his face. 

"Dipper...dipper please. I'm more than a monster now, tell him!" he pleaded. The more human side of him was peeking through, the same thing Dipper had seen the night before. He did consider it, that Bill had changed and was better now. But as Bill begged for mercy, a black tear rolled down his cheek, a sign of the evil that still lurked within. Dipper scowled at the demon.

"Take him." he spat as he threw Bill on the floor. Bill fumbled onto the floor where he was pinned face down with a zip tie being put onto his wrists. He started to kick violently, acting like a child throwing a tantrum. Dipper still grabbed his feet and tied them too. Bill, the once omnipotent demon, was now powerless. He was lifted onto the couch and the others went to he basement to discuss their situation. 

"What do we do now?" asked Mabel, "do we just kill him?" 

"No," said Ford, concentrated, "he's not at full capacity. He's weak, powerless. Killing him now would only destroy a part of him." 

"So what do you suggest we do?" asked Dipper. 

"I think I can gather the remnants of the portal to create some sort of...sort of..." Ford started to look around for something. 

"Sort of what?" demanded Pacifica, impatient. 

"Some sort of charger." he said, ruffling through old blueprints. 

"So, you think we should hook him up to a big machine, push all of his power back into him, and then kill him?" asked Dipper. 

"No no, of course not. When he transferred into a human body, his powers got thrown out due to the fragile vessel. But if we plug them all back in, it'll be too much for it and he'll self destruct. There will be no need to kill him."

"And that'll get rid of him forever?" asked Pacifica. 

"It should." 

"Then I say we do it." Mabel said with enthusiasm. "Pacifica and I will go get him."

Pacifica and Mabel headed upstairs to go grab him. Once they arrived, he was still writhing on the couch, struggling to get free. He was mumbling incoherent grumbles angrily as he did so. 

"You grab the head, I'll grab the feet." They lifted him up off the couch and he proceeded to flail around even more, making it difficult for the girls to get him down the stairs. Meanwhile, Dipper was in the basement, gathering up chains scratched up by ancient runes and creatures who had spent time in them. This kinda thing would usually have stirred him up, make him uneasy. He wasn't the type of guy to just override a being's free will and kill it, he was the type of guy to give everything a second chance. But not Bill. 

THUNK. They threw Bill on the basement floor and he groaned as his body hit the hard ground. Ford nodded in approval. 

"Yes this should work great. Good job girls. Dipper, get those chains ready, we'll want to give him a bit of slack." he said. Bill chuckled as his eyes scanned the room. Ford shot him a nasty look. 

"Y'know Sixer, you always get SOO offended when I treat you like the freak you are, but what normal person has a basement full of weapons?"

"I'll have you know that every one of these have saved me or my family at least once!" He was fuming. 

"Oh yeah? And what about that if gun over there, huh?" 

"You should know what that is, Cipher. I've used it on you before."

"And missed."

"Mabel, Pacifica, gag him please." Ford ordered, tires of arguing with Bill. 

"Aw, I was just trying to make a bit of friendly conversation. But I do have to say—" before he could even finish his sentence, a thick slab of duct tape was placed over his mouth. 

Dipper enjoyed the sound of Bill's muffled words as he hung the chains up in the room with the destroyed remains of the portal. He listened to the conversation from the other room. 

"So how are you gonna give him his powers back?" asked Pacifica's voice. 

"I'm not sure if it's going to work, I haven't worked out the kinks."

"Would he be able to escape with his powers once we give them back to him?"

"Not easily. Especially in these chains and that body." 

"Gotcha."

"Now, were gonna have to take turns keeping watch. Just to make sure no funny business happens. As he gets more of his powers back, he'll become more inhuman and mean. Pacifica, you'll take first watch because he'll be the most human then. But for now while he's still weak we'll leave him alone down here." Throughout the talking, a gurgle of words could be heard from Bill, his reaction and refusal to what was being said about him. 

"Done." Dipper said as he walked into the room with the rest. 

"Good, get him in those chains. 

"With pleasure," said Mabel with a smirk on her face, as she proceeded to drag the demon into the next room. It took all three of the young adults to secure Bill, undoing each zip tie one at a time and struggling to get each limb into the chains. The restraints seared his skin once they touched it, but slowly calmed down to normal. Once he was secured, they took off his duct tape only to replace it with a rag over his mouth until his word slowly faded to black.


	18. The monster within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacifica has to look after bill, but he may be a bit different after being locked in a cold basement for a while

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Is anyone still reading? Comment what you think if you are, I love your input!

The door slowly creaked open as Pacifica entered the dirty basement. It smelled of grime and dust, and the floor was littered with wrappers, balled up papers, and chewed up pens. She took out a timer, set it for two hours, and placed it carefully on the floor. The light from this room peeked into the room holding the demon. She slowly walked into his holding chamber, prepared for what was coming for her. The only sound was her slow footsteps and the dripping of the ceiling. It was too quiet. 

She was too scared to reach for her flashlight, she was afraid it would make too much noise. The room was dark, leaving her to the mystery of where Bill was in the room. She stayed along the wall to keep herself feeling safe. Suddenly, there was...a sound. Clattering of chains....and laughing. She started to fumble for her flashlight but as she scrambled to turn it on, it fell to the floor loudly. She got down to search for it and looked back to where the noise had first come from. Bill was on the floor, smiling wildly. His sharp, fang-like teeth were so white and his eye was so yellow they seemed to glow in the pitch black room. 

"You won't need that flashlight, sweetcheeks." he leered. She picked up the flashlight and shone it on him. He practically hissed at the light, and sat sprawled on the floor like an animal. Both of eyes were exposed, one was blood red with a black pupil with a dark X scar over it, the other golden yellow, but still bloodshot with black blood. He had thick chains wrapped around his every limb, and where there were chains there was red, cut up skin. Pacifica winced at the sight of his cut up wrists, neck and ankles. He was so skinny and had struggled so much it seemed his bone was exposed. He was severely scratched up, most likely from the claws on his slender burned up fingers. His chains were just loose enough to let him move around certain areas of the room, like a dog. 

"Jesus is this what getting your powers back does to you?" she asked in disgust. 

"Only when I can't use them." he responded, looking straight at Pacifica. She tried to stand her ground, but looked away out of intimidation. "So..." he purred, slowly crawling towards her, "they sent you down here to look after me, huh?"

She nodded. He grinned, as he moved in such a odd, sparatic way he appeared to be glitching. "I don't know why you're acting so cocky, you have no power here. I have the upper hand." she said, her voice shaking. 

"Oh, I could hurt you if I wanted to." He said slowly rising to his feet. "But I'd never want to ruin this...tasty physique." Pacifica rolled her eyes. 

"Such a shame it would," his eyes became level to hers,"go to waste." She scowled at him with all of her might. 

"What do you mean?" she snarled. 

"Well, y'know...telepathy. It comes in handy. But the fact of the matter is, you like women, don't you?" Pacifica said nothing but continued to give him a deathly stare. 

"What's your point, cipher? Thought your powers didn't work?"

"Oh yeah the useful ones don't. You talked to Shooting Star....you like her don't you?" He took long pauses obviously reading her mind as he did so. He started laughing. "You told her you ran away?" He said cackling, "Why? Were you scared?" He got as close as he could to her, trying to emphasize his words as much as possible to get her to snap. "Scared to tell her you....got kicked out? Once your parents found out....they didn't want such a disgrace to the Northwest name in their house, did they?"

"Stop it!" Pacifica screamed, holding back tears. 

"Oh, don't be such a pussy, blondie! Your family has done worse! Boy if I had a deer tooth for every deal I've made with the Northwests..." He was trying to get her to ask questions so he could manipulate her more, but she didn't take the bait. 

In fact, those 2 hours were some of the most emotionally gruesome and painful moments of her short life. Bill was having a field day rifling through her worst memories and listing off the sins of her ancestors. And she had to sit there, and listen to it, and act like she didn't hear a word. It was killing her to listen to him reassure her insecurities and tell her how horrible her and her whole family was. A large lump in her throat had formed, and her hand was trembling. At one point she let a small tear slip down her face and boy, did that add fuel to the fire. 

It was sad, how he had seemed like a tortured soul only earlier that day, and how much he had changed since then. He was like a hungry lion, that had been kept in a small cage, starved, and beaten. An otherwise neutral animal, turned rabid beast. It wasn't his fault. The Bill that had begged for Dipper, that had been almost human was still I'm there. But at this rate it seemed he would never come out. 

Bill continued to taunt her, to tease her and try to get her to retort with something, anything, just so he could shoot it down. He was running out of things to say after nearly two hours, and was trying to stretch out horrible things to say as long as possible.

As he went on and on about how much she deserved everything that came at her in high school, she was about at her limit. 

"Y'know, you were just asking for it! Did you even notice how absolutely SLUTTY those clothes you had picked out were?? No wonder, he tried to date rape you, I would have done the same thing. So would any guy, considering how you just led him on like that. And—"

WHAM! Before he could finish she slugged him. He flipped around and fell to the floor dramatically and she dropped to her knees, sobbing. 

As she held her head in her hands, she wept, feeling the hot tears flow down her face. She didn't care if he could hear, and how much joy it would probably give him, she just cried. The loud and staccato beeping of the timer went off in the other room, it was time for her to leave. She cried harder in relief, her face almost touching the floor. 

"Pacifica!!" cried Mabel running down the stairs. She had heard the timer going off, and wanted to see what was going on. She slammed open the door to the demons holding chamber, and saw a weeping Pacifica on the floor. "Pacifica!" She said worrriedly, crouching down next to her. 

Pacifica looked up and gave Mabel such a gracious hug they almost fell over. Mabel rubbed her back and pet her hair, reassuring her that everything was alright. 

Meanwhile, the demon turned around to look at the two girls and grinned. Only, now his unsettling smile was bloody from the black liquid pouring from his nose. He broke her, and she was suffering. There was this uncontrollable rage burning within him that made his heart flutter at the sight of Pacifica on he ground, defeated. But there was still something back there, telling him this was wrong, but it was long drowned out by the voice screaming at him to keep going...say one more thing....scare her....break her....

Mabel looked at the creature I'm disgust and fear as she dragged the blonde back upstairs. He smiled at her and she gulped. She was next.


	19. Do I wanna know

Mabel slammed the door to the basement shut. In one hand, she held a lantern that emitted an eerie yellow light, which barely illuminated the gloomy basement. The other hand held a switchblade. She was ready for this, or at least she seemed ready. She could hear the demon's chains jingle from the other room, but besides that he remained completely silent. Her lace up boots hit the ground hard with each slow step, making her presence known in the cold basement turned jail cell. 

She stepped into the room and set the lantern on the floor, only lighting a small portion of the room, but it was good enough for her. She grabbed a chair from the previous room and dragged it over to the lantern, making a loud scraping sound across the floor. She flipped it around and straddled it, waiting for Bill to show himself. The switchblade was being flipped around in intricate ways in her hand as she waited, which helped her feel more intimidating. 

The whole room was swallowed by darkness, the lamp only lighting a small portion of the room. The only sound now was the clicks and the clacks of the knife in her hand. Pacifica had seen so shaken up after her encounter, now Mabel was left to wonder what Bill was going to do to her. And the thing was she knew that was what he wanted her to think. He wanted her to let her mind wander and to build up his entrance. And yet, the anticipation still killed her. She waited for what seemed like forever. Alas, she sat in that chair for only a good number of minutes, not an eternity. She stood up, impatient. 

"Show yourself!" she shouted. Her voice echoed throughout the room. Finally he made a sound, the chains. Except they weren't clinking, they were being dragged across the stone floor. She braced herself for his entrance, him obviously not in a hurry. She squinted at the darkness, trying to make out something that would resemble him. Soon she could hear his heavy, raspy breathing. 

"So," he whispered, still lurking in the darkness, "you think you're so brave..."

Suddenly, he leaped off of the floor towards her, guns ablaze. She reacted quickly, gripping her knife and slashing his face before he could reach her. He fell to the ground, his hand over his smiling face. 

"You've gotten better, Shooting Star. Faster, stronger." 

"I know I have." she said, sitting back down. 

"Why is that?" 

"Like I'd tell you." There was silence. The drips of blood hit the floor and echoed off the walls. The wheels in his head were turning, trying to figure out how to mess with her own head. 

He temped her with several questions, about her home life. Her self hatred, how he had tortured her in the past...none of it worked on her. Again, he was impressed. But then, amidst the darkness and silence he thought of it. 

"You know what I did to your brother when I had his soul in my clutches?" The words sat there, being processed. 

"No, he....he didn't tell me."

"Do you want to know...?" asked Bill. Mabel sat there, silent. Did she want to know? She knew it would hurt but she still wanted the truth. She knew it would damage her even more to hear what torment her brother went through. She shook her head. 

"No! No I don't want to know! You don't deserve my attention, my grief. I'm not gonna let you play with my mind anymore!"

"Well shooting star I see you've gotten a bit more insistent on standing up for yourself. You're so strong and independent, look at you! Well, Miss Strong and Independent, if you're so high and mighty, why won't you let me tell you of the fun I had with your brother."

Mabel knew she wanted to know, she had lied. She wanted to hear what her either had gone through, just how eveil the creature sitting in front of her was. But she didn't let on, she just sat in her chair. But Bill was much more intuitive than that, he could see right through her. So he told the story anyway. 

"Well what I did was I set him up in my own little dimension. I met him get comfortable then I took his nightmares and I twisted them, changed them. I made them more gruesome, more traumatic. I took the things that made him wake up in a sweat and turned them into things he wouldn't be able to wake up from. Then I made them more realistic, I gave them color, texture, feeling...and I threw him in and watched him burn. For what felt like weeks on end he endured my little games that I had spent years in the mindscape meticulously planning out to the very last detail. It was quite fun watching it all play out, watching him descend into the madness that I must live in everyday of my immortal life."

Mabel paused, refusing to let a tear roll down her cheek. She let the information settle into her brain, let herself toss around the words she just heard a bit. It was hell, hell that Dipper had gone through. And he did nothing to deserve it. What happened to her wasn't even half of what he got. And why? What did he do that she didn't? It angered her beyond belief. 

Then, the yelling started. She screamed in pain and agony for her brother. Her regrets, her fears, her scars...she let them all out by screaming out as much noise as possible. Bill was laughing hysterically while she did so, but his laughter was drowned out by Mabel's sorrow. Then after her voice was hoarse and her cries dissolved into sobs, she got up, and she started to take out her anger in a different way. 

She punched Bill again. She pinned him down and beat him up. Her cold tears finally escaped her eyes as she did so, and she slowly fell over in exhaustion, bawling and panting. 

"What are you?" she asked. "What could possibly posses you to do so much harm to us, to the world?"

"Well right now I think I'm a bruised sack of potatoes." 

Mabel scoffed and got back up. She went back to her chair, facing away from Bill. They sat there, neither saying a word for the remaining time. Mabel was so frustrated and confused. She didn't know how to deal with the horrible feelings she had, and she never wanted to feel like this again. She clutched her arm and let her mind wander, and every time a particularly bad memory came up, she dug her nails into her skin. 

She remembered being a kid, optimistic and happy. Where did she go wrong? She missed that cheerfulness, that innocence. Where gnomes were her biggest problem, not torture or demons of chaos. She wanted her old life back, she wanted her brother back. 

DING! The timer was up, she could go upstairs. She sighed and grabbed her stuff, dragging herself up the stairs. She found Dipper, who's had the next shift. She said nothing, and gave him a long hug. He didn't dare question it. He just let it happen. Mabel then collapsed on the couch, and let herself fall asleep.


End file.
